RoleMedia PDF

Role of Media in Promoting
Communal Harmony
National Foundation for Communal Harmony

New Delhi
2012
Published by:
National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH)

9th Floor, ‘C’ Wing, Lok Nayak Bhawan
Khan Market, New Delhi-110 003
© 2012, National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH)
‘Any part of this publication

may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means with due acknowledgement to NFCH’
ISBN- 978-81-887772-11-7
Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 2

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony
Sl. Contributors Title Page No.
No.
1. Radhakrishnan B Media - the fourth pillar of the society 1-7
2. Aishvarya Singh Media gets great power alongwith great 8-17
responsibility
3. Rajan Vishal Media has a responsible role in 18-24

strengthening communal harmony
4. Ashwini Sattaru Security of all is in a free press 25-34
5. Harsh Mangla Media has to be sensitive for harmony 35-42

6. Mariam F. Sadhiq Media is a double edged sword 43-46
7. Lalithalakshmi The press is the best instrument for 47-54
Venkataramani enlightening the minds of men
8. Karma Dorji Media must help society to define and 55-59

promote right values
9. Rahul Jain Media can steer the country in a direction 60-65

where peace prevails
10. Dhavalkumar Content of the Media should be 66-72

Kirtikumar Patel congenial for Harmony
11. Adesh Anand Media can play harmonizing role in the 73-81
Titarmare society
12. Shemushi Bajpai Media is the key for building Communal 82-86
Harmony
13. Hkjr ;kno ehfM;k& yksdra= dk izgjh 87-92
14. yfyr 'kkD;koj ehfM;k dks O;kolkf;drk o uSfrdrk ds 93-99

e/; vfuok;Z larqyu dk dk;Z djuk
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15. fxfjoj n;ky flag losZ HkoUrq lqf[ku% loZ lUrq fujke;k 100-109
About the contributors 110-111

Preface
I am pleased to present this collection of essays on ‘Role of Media in Promoting

Communal Harmony’, authored by the Civil Services officers at Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie (LBSNAA). These
essays presented in the form of an e-monograph, are the result of an annual
essay competition organized for the 82 nd Foundation Course by LBSNAA at the
request of National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH).
Over the years, the problem of communalism has adversely affected the
progress of the country. The Central & State Governments and other relevant
agencies have made concerted efforts to contain the problem and promote social
harmony. It has now been widely recognized that the print, electronic and other
forms of social media can effectively play a very significant role to promote
communal harmony and National Integration. This compilation would provide all
relevant inputs to make media more effective for creating social cohesion.
We are grateful to the officers who spared time to contribute these thought
provoking essays on a topical subject, despite their busy schedule, covering
various dimensions of the topic. Since the essays included in this monograph
highlight the importance of increasing role of media in promoting communal
harmony, these will be of immense use to administrators, media personnel,
academicians and students.
The views expressed in these essays are those of the contributors alone and do
not necessarily reflect those of the Foundation. However, any editorial mistake is
subject to correction by NFCH. I am thankful to the concerned staff of the
Foundation for the help and cooperation in finalizing this e-book.
Secretary
NFCH
i
Media - the fourth pillar of the society
RADHAKRISHNAN B
"Pen is mightier than Sword" - this old proverb seems to be true even in
today's context as the media seems to gain strength in the modern society. Media
includes mass media like TV, News channels, News papers, Radio, journals,
magazines and most importantly internet and email. The sphere of influence of
media is increasing day by day as the coverage of a small news article is very wide
these days. And more importantly in this modern knowledge-society, media plays
the role of facilitator of development, disseminator of information, and being an
agent of change. Today, media is considered the fourth pillar of the state all over
the world. More importantly this is very true in the context of a biggest democracy
like India.
The Mass Media is an unique feature of modern society. It's development
has accompanied an increase in the magnitude and complexity of societal actions
and engagements, rapid social change, technological innovation, rising personal
income and standard 'of life and the decline of some traditional forms of control
and authority. There is an association between the development of mass media and
social change, although the degree and direction of this association is still debated
upon even after years of study into media influence. Many of the consequences,
either detrimental or beneficial, which have been attributed to the mass media, are
almost undoubtedly due to other tendencies within the society. Few sociologists
would refuse the importance of the mass media, and mass communications as a
whole, as being a major factor in the construction and circulation of social
understanding and social imagery in modern societies. Therefore it is argued that
the mass media is used as ,"an instrument", both more powerful and more flexible
than anything in previous existence, for influencing people into certain modes of
belief and understanding within society.

According to the old notion, the newspaper was responsible advisor to the
public. Its first duty was to provide the news, "uncoloured by any motive". Its
second duty was to present "a certain view of public policy" which it believed to be
for the good of the state and community. It treated life as a "serious matter". It had
an antiquated respect for truth and believed in the moral governance of things. It
aimed at something and that something was guarded for the good of the society.
This made Wickman Steed to say that "the printing and the selling of news is a
social service". It is an aid administration and a spokesman of the public. It will
bridge the gulf between the public and the government and the governed. It is a
profession where so many decisions involving so great a responsibility are to be
taken at such a pace.
"Media" holds a special position because its raw material is really the public
mind and it trades chiefly in "moral values". The institution whose raw material is
the public mind is a great institution. The study of the human mind is the most
interesting thing and even more interesting is to inform guide, teach and help it in
coming to a decision.
The press is the most important, effective, extensive, popular and
convenient; cheapest and the surest method of moulding and formulating public
opinion. It is the most important of the elements which constitutes public opinion
itself.· Communal disharmony is a problem which attributes to various factors.
Among those factors media also gives its contribution. This media which acts
disseminates of information to the public plays vital role in promoting communal
harmony.
An example of the media resorting to untruth is: while Mr. Pravin Togadia
had said to the effect that if Rambhaktas are prevented from entering Ayodhya,
there would be riots, the Indian Express used the words, “communal riots" instead
of "riots". This word is very mischievous and capable of causing / hatred between
communities.

Over the last century, India has been rocked by communal, caste, linguistic
or regional violence, of this; communal riots have assumed dangerous proportions
from the beginning of eighties. The innumerable incidents of small or big
proportions have sharpened the communal intensity leading to an emotional
upsurge in the country, which added' to the communal tension. The responsibility
of the media in such situations is undeniable. Unfortunately, the Press has not
always covered these events dispassionately and objectively. Without going too far
back in the time, if we analyse the situation since 90's, between 1991-92, some
section of the media got carried away by the turn of the tide in this very city. Else
where, the militants and terrorists were openly glorified for serving the cause of
their community.
The modern media often tends to forget some of its basic social
responsibilities. Instead they often indulge in sensationalising of news. For
example, the news of Amitabh Bachhan going to temple is being covered in wide
way than the cracking of a terror module by a Delhi police. Media channels are
more worried about their TRP ratings rather than the issue of social responsibility.
And this trend is needed to be changed. If you take the role of media in coverage
of communal riots in the past, riots of late 60's, the violence of 1980-81, the
separatist movement of mid-eighties and early 90's, the incidents at Ayodhya,
Mumbai, Gujarat the media played different kinds of roles. During these periods,
the media which enjoys the utmost freedom of expression, has a great and vital
role to play in moulding public opinion on correct lines in regard to the need of
friendly and harmonious relations between various communities and religious
groups and thus promote national solidarity. The role of media in such situations is
to be peacemakers and not abettors, to be trouble-shooters and not troublemakers.
The present day situation of our country demands an active and vibrant
media. The frequency of incidence of communal conflict is increasing these days.
Recent communal conflicts in Karnataka, Kandhamal in Orissa shows the need of
media's involvement in promoting communal harmony. Because the people of

other parts of the country come to know about those incidents only through media.
So while reporting those incidents the media should take in minds that no hatred is
created among the sections of the people.
The Wardha commission states that media, both print and electronic, had
also to exercise restraint and screaming headlines should be avoided. It said: "New
headlines in the cases of rape of nun and murder of Christian boy and girl after
rape have been noticed. One cannot imagine the damage that might have been
caused to the polity by such headlines and reporting" and added that "reporting on
communal strife should not done without proper verification or an ordinary crime
given a communal twist." In this regard, the memorandum said in view of the
Government's commitment to uphold the freedom of the press, it would not be
appropriate to prescribe any code of conduct on reporting by the media, as it
would be construed an interference in their working. It, however, said that the
views of the commission were being brought to the notice of the Press Council of
India.
Media is the fourth pillar of the society but sometimes tries to outsmart the
other three pillars like judiciary, executive, and legislature. This creates an
imbalance in the system and ultimately fails in doing its role. For example, in the
wake of the Tamil Nadu speaker's action against journalists, many media bosses
have called for the need to codify privileges of parliament and state legislatures.
Thus they want to curb the rights of MPs and MLAs.
Many times they had tried to curb the power of the Judiciary also. For
example, the press maintains that truth must be the basis of consideration in
matters of contempt of court cases. But the media does not hesitate to report
untruth when it suits its interests. There are many examples to illustrate how the
media tramples truth. The media bosses try to play one pillar of democracy against
another. After getting the stay order from the Supreme Court against his arrest, N.
Ram was arrogant to state: "we are not opportunistic and have not demanded
invoking article 356 as things stand now". If one reads between the lines this is

nothing but short of N. Ram's threat to Jayalalitha to Demand dismissal of her
government and impose President's rule there in Tamil Nadu.
But, irrespective of the age we live in, newspapers must continue to pursue a
higher purpose than mere profit making. And, this purpose is best served when a
newspaper, without fear or favour, keeps its readers fully informed and provides
space to a plurality of views. As I have often said, free speech is the life- blood of a
democracy. It is also one of our fundamental rights. But this right comes along
with responsibility. The responsibility not to sensationalize events. The
responsibility to guard communal harmony and national unity. The responsibility
to strengthen the social fabric of our multi-religious and multi-lingual country.
At the same time, we have to compliment the media for its changed attitude
towards establishing communal harmony. I feel -that the media is to be
complimented for its coverage -of the recent incident at Varanasi. Even; while the
controversy over the Danish Cartoons was gaining momentum, in Varanasi,
Hindus were felicitating a Muslim whose alertness made possible the diffusion of
a bomb at Dashmeshwar Ghat. The credit for this can only go to the media.
Therefore, I firmly believe that the media of our country has matured into an
institution where its initiatives and instruments can stop the spiral of hatred and
obfuscation, which, in itself, constitutes a threat to international peace and security.
There are also lots of columnists in the newspapers who work for the
communal harmony and they have been recognized, the examples are: Author
Tanveer Jafri is a columnist based in India. He is related with hundreds of most
popular daily news papers/portals in India and abroad. Jafri, almost writes in the
field of communal harmony, world peace, anti communalism, anti terrorism,
national integration, national & international politics etc. He is a devoted social
activist for world peace, unity, integrity & global brotherhood. Tanveer Jafri is
also a member of Haryana Sahitya Academy & Haryana Urdu Academy.
Thousands articles of the author have been 'published in different newspapers,
websites & news portals.

In the wake of recent rising conflicts among communities in the country,
each and every journalist should take the responsibilities in promoting the
communal harmony. And they should follow certain basic principles while writing
about communal clashes:
1. Journalists and columnists owe a very special responsibility to their country in
promoting communal peace and amity. Their writings are not a mere reflection
of their own feelings but help to large extent in moulding the feelings and
sentiments of the society at large. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that they
use their pen with circumspection and restrain.
2. News, views or comments relating to communal or religious disputes/clashes

shall be published after proper verification of facts and presented with due
caution and restraint in a manner which is conducive to the creation of an
atmosphere congenial to communal harmony, amity and peace. Sensational,
provocative and alarming headlines are to be avoided. Acts of communal
violence or vandalism shall be reported in a manner and may not undermine the
people’s confidence in the law and order machinery of the state. Giving
community-wise figures of the victims of communal riot, or writing about the
incident in a style which is likely to inflame passions, aggravate the tension, or
accentuate the strained relations between the communities/ religious groups
concerned, or which has a potential to exacerbate the trouble, shall be avoided.
3. The media, as a chronicle of tomorrow’s history, owes an undeniable duty to

the future to record events as simple untailored facts. The analysis of the events
and opinion thereon are a different genre altogether. The treatment of the two
also to be necessarily different. In times of crisis, facts unadorned and simply
put, with due care and restraint, cannot be reasonably objected to in a
democracy. However, a heavy responsibility devolves on the opinion of the
author on the articles. The author has to ensure that not only his or her analyse

is free from any personal preference, prejudices or notions, but also they are
based on verified, accurate and established facts and do not tend to foment
disharmony or enmity between castes, communities and races.
Recently, some of the TV channels have shown the coexistence of Hindus

and Christians while the clash between them in Kandhamal and other areas. Media
should give more space to cover wide ranging of articles regarding communal
harmony. They should cover festivals celebrated in certain parts of the country
where different communities together join and celebrate. For example, Nagore
dargha annual festival, Velankanni flag festivals in Tamilnadu are the ones
celebrated with the cooperation of different communities.
Some of the media are giving awards for the people who are working in the
area of communal harmony. This is a wonderful sign of increasing media role in
promoting harmony among people. Founding Fathers of our constitution believed
that secularism is the antithesis of and the anti-dote to communalism. Therefore,
they made secularism, in all its ramifications, one of the basic pillars of the
Constitution. They enshrined it as one of the prime objectives in the Preamble of
the Constitution. I am sure it is possible with the active role of media and it is the
real mandate for them right now.

Media gets great power along with great responsibility
AISHVARYA SINGH
India is a country characterized by a diverse population comprising people

belonging to different religions, castes, communities, sects etc. Though generally
they can all be found living together in peace and harmony, the nation has from
time to time also witnessed a number of instances of serious communal tension or
conflict.
In times of such conflict the onus is primarily on the Government and also
on various other agencies to try and restore normalcy in the country. Among all
these agencies the Media is probably the most powerful single influence today,
helping mould public opinion with regard to the need of fostering friendly and
harmonious relations between various communities and religious groups and
thereby also promoting national solidarity.
Here the term "media" generally refers to the "mass media" which is
specifically envisioned and designed to reach a very large audience such as the
population of a nation state.
The mass media basically comprises the print media, like newspapers,
magazines and the electronic media consisting traditionally of the television and
radio, along with which are now also added the internet and mobile telephones. All
these together form the gamut of sources which not only disseminate factual
information but also serve as foray for constructive discussions and debates
regarding a wide range of issues at both the national and international levels.
Historical perspective
The Media has been a major champion in promoting the cause of communal
harmony in the country. Historically, right from the days of the British rule the
Media (at that time limited to the print format) has been a very vociferous
supporter of communal peace and harmony and the importance of getting united to
fight the common enemy, the British.

On thinking of those times and the important role played by the Media then,
the foremost example that comes to mind is that of the anti-partition movement
launched by the Indians as a response to the administrative decision to partition
Bengal in 1905. The nationalist print Media comprising newspapers and
periodicals like the Amrit Bazar Patrika, Sandhya, Yugantar, Bande Mataram etc
was utilized by the leaders of the movement to carry out their views to the general
public of Bengal and other parts of India and to urge them to protest the partition.
It was through such efforts that a huge stir was created which finally led to the
annulment of the proposed partition in 1911.
Even later on during the freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhi too launched
Young India and Harijan, which contained his views on the importance of uniting
as a nation to fight the British, preserving communal harmony and protecting the
interests of the minority communities.
Maulana Azad's famous newspaper Al-Hilal too was a very staunch
supporter of communal unity and brotherhood and strongly opposed the communal
extremist ideology, which it said would greatly harm the future vision of a free
India.
All these efforts finally bore fruit when we achieved independence in 1947.
The happiness of the moment was however overshadowed by the gory carnage and
riots that occurred in the border areas during the partition of the country. It was in
such troubled times, when innumerable Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were getting
butchered that the leaders resorted to the Media to appeal to the public to maintain
peace and shun violence. In fact it will not be wrong to say that in independent
India the responsibilities of the agencies of mass media increased manifold.
The Indo-Pak and Sino-Indian wars too saw the Media taking an active lead
in keeping the morale of the country high and stressing the need to eschew internal
differences and conflicts and stand up united against external aggression.
Even later on during the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 the Media took a lead and
worked endlessly in trying to dissipate the communal tension and restore normalcy

in the country.
The incidents which came as a major shock to this normalcy however, were
the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992 and the communal riots in
Mumbai. Not only did they shake the foundation of Secularism in the country, but
also presented a major challenge before the Media to prevent the building up of
any more communal resentment and discord. The Media however did not belie
these hopes and living up to the challenge, not only reported the actual demolition
but thereafter also continuously condemned it to the utmost. The various TV
channels and the virtual chat rooms became hotbeds of discussion through which
the Press and Electronic Media tried to formulate some public opinion about the
issue.
Later on too during incidences like 2002 Gujarat violence that followed the
Godhra train burning, terrorist activities such as the 2005 Ram Janmabhoomi
attack in Ayodhya, the blasts in markets in Delhi (when Eid and Diwali both were
falling only one day apart from 'each other), the 2006 Varanasi bombings, the 2006
Jama Masjid explosions, the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, and more
recently after the Ahmedabad and New Delhi blasts in 2008, the various agencies
of mass media all condemned the incidents and made the utmost efforts to
maintain communal harmony by going to the affected areas and bringing forth
examples of people from different communities living together in peace, helping
each other despite the prevalent communal tension etc.
The counterview: Do we have an irresponsible Media?
However, despite all these positive steps taken by the various agencies of
mass media towards preservation and promotion of communal harmony, an often
heard criticism of these is that they are prone to giving in to sensationalism and
exaggeration of facts/ events which sometimes can result into serious communal
tension and clashes.
It has also been noted that a large number of newspapers and news channels
in the country and, in particular a large section of the print and electronic media

has, instead of alleviating communal unrest, often played an ignoble role in
inciting communal passions leading to large scale rioting, arson and pillage in the
State concerned.
Such irresponsible behaviour especially assumes greater ramifications when
we understand the fact that people in general make decisions in large part in terms
of favourable or unfavourable images, relating facts and opinions to stereotypes.
Today the movies, internet, newspaper, magazine, comic strips etc are the
principal agents in creating and perpetuating these conventional conceptions.
When the images they portray fail to represent or distort the image of a community
or group, they tend to pervert judgment which can at times lead to communal
tensions and chaos.
This may not always be done purposely and may occur indirectly and
incidentally too. For instance if the movies continuously depict people of a
particular community, say Muslims, as terrorists, drugs and arms dealers, anti-
nationals etc, an image of the Muslims is built which needs to be balanced by
another positive one.
Such actions also need to be necessarily analyzed with the rapid
advancements being made in communication technology nowadays and the world
turning into one big global village.
Technology: Opportunity as well as Threat for the Media
Nowadays, any controversy even if it happens in a remote village reaches all
over the world due to advanced communication technology and new media. When
transnational media targets a global audience, issues and controversies become a
global event. Therefore, any controversy created by an irresponsible act of any
media organization can spread all over the world and in such a scenario the
repercussions will be far reaching.
An example of this on the international level can be the controversy that
erupted after the publication of the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed by the Danish
newspaper the Jyllands-Posten. In the aftermath of that controversy people were

killed, newspapers were closed and editors sacked. The controversy was narrated
as a clash between two civilizations. It was also described as an encounter between
freedom of expression and religious fundamentalism.
The controversy and the clashes spread worldwide and India also witnessed
protests in different parts of the country including Delhi and Mumbai. Four
persons were killed in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. Political parties
expressed solidarity with the minority Muslim community. The state elections for
various legislative assemblies in April-March 2006 compelled political parties to
organize demonstrations against western media accusing it of anti-Islamic
propaganda.
In fact, so grave were the reactions and protests in the country that
anticipating a communal clash, the Prime Minister’s Office had to come out with a
statement, saying "it is incumbent on all of us to be sensitive to the beliefs and
sentiments of other and avoid all actions that cause hurt to them. India's
commitment to religious harmony and tolerance is unshakable and actions that
cause hurt to the sentiments of any part of our people are not acceptable."
The commissioning of the cartoons by the Danish newspaper, its subsequent
reproduction by the international media and the ensuing communal clashes and
tension besides highlighting the extensive and pan-global reach of the Media, also
raised many ethical questions regarding freedom of the press and social
responsibility of the Media. While governments started contemplating more
regulations on the media in the name of communal harmony and national
integration, media organizations too once again stressed the need for redefining
ethical boundaries in day-to-day journalism in the era of new technology.
Publication of the entire truth
Another issue which is highly debated when it comes to the role of the
media in promoting communal harmony and even otherwise is the extent to which
truth should be revealed by the media in its coverage of issues, especially in times
of communal tension or conflict.

One view with reference to this issue says that upholding values and
principles, journalists have the responsibility to report the truth to their audience.
Kant (1986), in his famous essay “On the Supposed Right to lie Out of Humanity”
advocates the fundamental validity of telling the truth, even if there is a conflict of
duties: Tell the truth whether it is convenient or inconvenient, regardless of the
consequences"
At the same time it has also been argued that the publication of the truth is
not advisable when there is a possibility of communal violence and social anarchy.
The Press Council of India says (Section 3:11),
"Truth is no defence for publishing derogatory, scurrilous and defamatory
material against a private citizen where no public interest is involved."
Even another statement related to this view suggests that even 'lies can be
justified if they serve the higher public good'.
However this issue still remains unresolved and subjected to much debate
and the policy followed by the various agencies of mass media related to this too
remains highly varied.
The Indian scenario
Taking the case in India, even though there is no blasphemy law in our
country, the publications here would not normally commission cartoons of
religious figures, as it is a very sensitive subject. Also while the Constitution of
India guarantees freedom of speech, it places "reasonable restrictions" "in the
interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order or morality. Our
social ethics too direct respect for the sentiments of the minorities.
Such restrictions resulted in censorship, an example of which was seen in
2004 when the documentary Final Solution, which looks at religious rioting
between Hindus and Muslims, was banned. The film follows 2002 clashes in the
western state of Gujarat, which left more than 1,000 people dead. The censor
board justified the ban, saying it was "highly provocative and may trigger off
unrest and communal violence". The ban was lifted in Oct.'04 after a sustained

campaign.
In Punjab too the Bhavsagar Granth was banned by the state government,
following clashes between mainstream Sikhs and the apostate Sikh sect that
produced it.
These instances however do not mean that the media does not criticize
religion. They often report on outdated customs as well as the rigid stance of
different religions on various issues. Newspapers recently published reports on the
controversy surrounding the Da Vinci Code and Gospel of Judas. Reports
appeared in the media when well known painter M.F. Husain portrayed the Hindu
goddess Saraswati in the nude.
In short, the Indian media upholds the 'norms for the journalistic conduct'
prescribed by the Press Council of India which (Section 20:11) says,
"Journalists and columnists owe a very special responsibility to their
country in promoting communal peace and amity. Their writings are not a mere
reflection of their own feelings but help to a large extent in moulding the feelings
and sentiments of the society at large. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that
they use their pen with circumspection and restrain."
The Council also directs the journalist to be vigilant and restrained when
dealing with issues of communal clashes. In the aftermath of the Gujarat
communal carnage the Council revised the 'norms for journalistic conduct' by
saying (Section 20:111),
"The role of media in such situations [Gujarat Carnage} is to be
peacemakers and not abettors, to be trouble shooters and not trouble makers".
The Council adds (Section 20:111),
"There is a greater moral responsibility on the media to do their best to
build national solidarity and to strengthen communal harmony at all levels
remembering the noble role they had played during pre-independence days. "
Considering the sensibility and freedom of faith, the Council also prohibits
the portrayal of religious figures and characters in bad light. In the 'norms for

journalistic conduct' it says (Section 22:4),
"Newspapers should not publish any fictional literature distorting and
portraying religious characters in an adverse light and offending the religious
susceptibilities of large sections of society who hold those characters in high
esteem, invested with attributes of the virtuous and lofty. "
The Council also rejects the argument of 'news value' for the reproduction of
any objectionable material. It says (Section 3: VIII), ~
"The 'publication of defamatory news by one paper does not give licence to
others to publish news/information of similar nature. "
Along with all these directions what is noteworthy is the fact that though the
Press Council of India suggests that media organizations impose self-censorship
when it comes to national integration and communal harmony there is actually in
general circumstances, no pre-control on media content by the Government or any
other agency.
Also important is the fact that though such stipulations have been laid down
by the PCI for the print media, there are no regulations regarding the code of
conduct, so to say, of the electronic media. This gives a lot of space to the
television, film, radio industry as well as to the online portals/news forums etc
when it comes to deciding their content and other ethical considerations related to
their programmes/ uploads. This discretion is what, if misused, results in a lot of
chaos and communal tensions.
On the other hand a more responsible coverage and depiction of
multifarious groups of humanity would, if resorted to by the Media, imply
revelation of the truth about that group, not excluding its weaknesses and vices,
and also recognizing its values, aspirations and its common humanity. Such
exposure to the inner truths of a group helps the others in the social milieu to
gradually build up respect for and understanding of it, thereby bolstering
communal harmony and spirit of national unity.

Conclusion
"Mile sur mera tumhara, to sur bane hamaara .... "
How can one forget this promotional item that was aired on the TV channels
so many years ago, but is as fresh as ever in memory when one thinks of Media
promoting communal harmony. Or can one forget Amir Khan in the film
Sarfarosh, or for that matter the simple children's song "ek chidiya, anek chidiya
..." once again aired on TV citing the importance of unity in diversity.
All these are images embedded in the mind and reiterate the importance of
Media as the means for promoting communal harmony in the most effective and
efficient manner so as to reach millions of people worldwide.
This is in fact great power, and the Media should always be vary of the fact
that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Also, as the
famous saying goes "With great power comes great responsibility", so the Media
too should be fully aware not only of its power but more so of the responsibility
concomitant to it and should use it for the best of the society.
Joseph Pulitzer sums up this ideal role/ image of the Media quite aptly when
he says:
"Nothing less than the highest ideals, the most scrupulous anxiety to do
right, the most accurate knowledge of the problems it has to meet and a sincere
sense of moral responsibility ..."
The Media can greatly facilitate thought and discussion. It can also stifle it.
It can advance the progress of civilization or it can thwart it. It can debase and
vulgarize mankind. It can even endanger the peace of the world by a rash and
unthought-of comment!'
The Media can play up or down the news and its significance, foster and
feed emotions, create complacent fictions and blind spots, misuse the great words,
and uphold empty slogans. Its scope and power are increasing every day as new
instruments can spread lies faster and farther than our forefathers dreamed of.

The primary responsibility of the Media thus is of creating an informed
citizenry in order to empower society and strengthen democracy and along with
this it should also play an active role in enhancing social, religious and communal
harmony for the betterment of the community, the society, the nation and the entire
humanity as a whole.

Media has a responsible role in strengthening communal harmony
RAJAN VISHAL
'The media is the most powerful entity on the earth. They have the
power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent,
and that's power. Events do not travel Reports do. And through this
they are able to influence the minds of the masses".
In the present times, with the advances in technology, the reach of all
forms of media (print & electronic) has become all-pervasive, wide and deep.
The mass media has become the single most potent medium to shape public
opinion. It can vulgarize or brutalize the society. Or it can help lift the society
onto a higher level. A good and responsible media is a nation talking to itself.
In a diverse country like ours, which has different hues and shades of cultures
and diversities, the role of media becomes all the more important.
The importance and need of communal harmony
Geography and history seem to have vied with each other in assigning
India the role of a crucible of cultural, linguist and religion interaction, and the
Indian people too have shown a proclivity for absorbing alien influences and
giving them local colour from ancient times. The traces of such cultural,
linguistic and religious overlaps have been so inextricably woven into the
fabric of everyday life, that it is impossible to separate the strands of what was
once imported, from what is indigenous. The history of the land has always
shown the adaptability of the people to new elements, with no loss of the vital
Indian essence. The ideas, beliefs and institutions thus imported, have neither
been accepted nor rejected in their totality, but they have been assimilated
with an ambience, which makes its culture, composite in character. Communal
harmony and national integration are the heart and soul of India.
In the current era, when India is marching ahead on the path of
economic development and acquiring a glorious place on the world stage, the
need of the hour is, to preserve, promote and defend the secular, pluralistic,

socialist and democratic values of our Constitution.
Media as a potent tool to promote Communal Harmony
To maintain and strengthen communal harmony, the society has to use
different channels and mediums. Media is one of the most potent and effective
medium given its wide reach, effective delivery mechanism and ability to
mobilize public opinion.
Communal disharmony and conflicts are fuelled by fear, suspicion and
hatred. The different channels of media are the transmission channels through
which fear, suspicion and hatred spread. Similarly, the confidence, trust and
sense of security also get transmitted through the same channels. Whatever be
the form, insecurity is perhaps the major cause of individual and social
dissensions. We have not till now had many instances, of societies or
communities that are fully integrated and therefore fearless. The societies and
individuals must rise above fear, jealousy and hate. When such individuals
combine themselves into a community, the problem of communal jealousy
and discord will disappear. The positive assertive role of media to alley the
fear, hatred end-suspicion is essential to generate communal harmony.
The need for mobilizing like-minded people at the national level and
creating among them an awareness of the dangers involved in communal
hatred and conflicts and of the need for joining hands and protesting against
such divisive and destructive forces is now strongly felt. This process needs to
be hastened by, finding ways and means to change the mindset of people from
narrow religious, linguistic and regional identity or allegiance to a broader
identity of Indian ness. The biggest challenge is to merge the religious,
linguistic and regional identity into a national identity, while maintaining the
other identities and cultures. Media has the potential to play a very important
role in bringing this change.

Media reporting in times of conflict
The reporting by the Media in times of conflict acquires all the more
importance since events do not travel. Reports do. It is the account or the
image of an event that arouses passions among millions of readers and TV
watchers. The event is witnessed hardly by a score of persons. What form the
image or the report acquires is in the hands of the reporter.
The communal riots in Gujarat after the Godhra tragedy were probably an
event which was exhaustively covered live through print and electronic media
at the national level. Media credibility emerged from Gujarat reporting as
bruised as the psyche of the victims from religious violence. But the reports
bruised millions of readers who had no hand in unleashing that savagery or
supporting it. News acquired new definitions providing room for a bit of
fiction that did irreparable damage to the communal fabric but also arbitrarily
created two new social classes deriving their identity from their understanding
of the Gujarat and Godhra events.
In the strictest sense, it is in the reporters telling of the story that the element
of mediation enters. Since very few of the readers happen to be on the scene, the
reporter who has seen the burning Godhra train or the burning Best Bakery tells us
the story of the arson. This story telling is not very simple. The
reporter is not just a journalist but also a member of the society that in
the end bears the cost of his reporting. Here the reporter does not enjoy
the same privilege as that of non-media spectator who can react to what
he has seen. Yet the reporter has a compulsion to reconstruct the event for the
benefit of the reader. This is what is called media construction of reality.
There is only one reality that our senses alone can experience. What we read
in newspapers is a version of that reality. The problem with reality is the
multiplicity of versions that it makes available to the journalist. The
phenomenon of the same story appearing in different pages, with different
heading sizes, with different leads and with different word-count manifests the

impossibility of arriving at a consensus on the core of the reality the journalist
is reporting. This is no excuse for straying wide off the mark.
The mention of the word Hindu to represent Mahatma Gandhi's assassin in
announcing his death over AIR prevented a possible repetition of the partition
frenzy. Let us consider one hypothetical example.
Assume that a piece of meat was found in a temple. It is a fact but
restraint in reporting it would localize any damage the fact could
do to communal harmony. The event could fizzle out as just a law
and order problem and when temperatures come down might
even permit community leaders to sit down and negotiate peace.
When facts are likely to convulse communities, reporters need
discretion in transmitting them. That is the essence of social
responsibility theory that requires the media to share the blame
for adverse effects of their reporting.
A similar case in point here is the media reporting on the Muslim growth
based on the data on population growth culled from India Census 2001. The
media sensationalized the issue by reporting prominently and provocatively on
their front pages that the minorities' population growth had increased.
However, it is worth noting that none of the media reports mentioned that the
Census Commissioner and Registrar General of India, had clarified that the
apparent increase in the growth rate of Muslims was not to be taken at face
value. The seeming rise in the Muslim growth rate was in reality a false
impression created by the fact that the census could not be carried out in
Jammu & Kashmir in 1991, and in Assam in 1981 - and that, since the former
is a Muslim majority state and the latter has a sizeable proportion of Muslims,
these omissions had a definite bearing on the current figures. The political
storm which resulted from the media reporting of this census figures was
based on an illusion created by misleading statistics, which the print media left
unexplained and did not prominently report even after the furore began.

Media reporting in times of harmony
Harmony seldom makes a headline. - Silas Bent
Media being a channel having wide reach and penetration with high
retention value and immense potential to influence public opinion, the
reporting in times of peace is a long term investment in keeping intact the
communal fabric of the country. During the harmony and tranquillity, the
media owes the responsibility of reporting the instances, endeavours and
experiences of communal harmony with the same fervour as they do in case of
conflict.
This would go a long way in forging a sense of security, trust, comfort
and belongingness among the masses. This would be an invaluable investment
in strengthening the communal harmony in the society. The media should
prominently carry reports, articles, documentaries, serials, films showcasing
the success stories in forging communal harmony.
What media should do

In the present time, when there is a deluge of 24 hour news channels,
numerous newspapers, radio channels, magazines etc, the journalists are vying
with each other to churn out saleable news stories in fiercely competitive
market. Sometimes in pursuit of increasing the TRPs or readership, they tend
to sensationalize the news and lace the news with spice to attract more eye-
balls. Here the media construction of reality is far from truth and is
detrimental to the fabric of communal harmony. The media should refrain
from doing this and strictly adhere to the principle of social responsibility.
It was while making newspaper deliveries, trying to miss the
bushes and hit the porch, that I first learned the importance of
accuracy in journalism. -Charles Osgood
The regional media (regional news channels, newspapers and

magazines) have to understand that they have a big responsibility towards the

strengthening the communal harmony in the country. They should strive to
align the reporting of regional interests under the over all domain of the main
stream national interest because in addition to being their ethical responsibility
their own long term interest lies in this approach.
In this competitive era, every news channel and newspaper suffers from
cover-it-all' syndrome. It so happens that many news stories are constructed in
the editors' room without really delving deep into the facts and figures. This
spells danger to the communal harmony and has the potential of raising the
tempers and hurting the feelings of people. They also tend to make stories out
of nothing and nowhere which do not have any news value.
Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle
accident and the collapse of civilization. - George Bernard Shaw
There should be a well defined set of rules and principles to report
communally sensitive events and issues for the media which should be strictly
adhered to. Press Council of India already has a set of rules like
glorification/ encouragement of social evils to be eschewed, violence not to be
glorified, norms to be followed during covering communal disputes/clashes,
headings not to be sensational/provocative and must justify the matter printed
under them and norms regarding references Caste, religion or community.
But the ambit of such set of rules should be broadened and strict
adherence to the same should be ensured. A similar set of rules should be
made for electronic media also.
Concluding Remarks
Media has an important and indispensable role in strengthening
communal harmony in the India of twenty first century. To ensure inclusive
growth on all fronts and for all sections of our society, communal harmony,
national integration and peaceful co-existence is the mantra. The peace and
tranquillity that emanates from communal harmony is conducive for socio-

economic growth and development. It fosters sense of belongingness &
concern for each other among masses. Media can cast the talisman which is
needed to build the India of Rabindra Nath Tagore, the India where the head
is held high and the mind is without fear.
Lets weave a world

Where future will not
Pelt on us
Puzzling questions
But
Instead gift us wings
To fly high
In the sky
Of Alpine Aspirations
Of Alpine Aspirations!

Security of all is in a free press
ASHWINI SATTARU
When holy friendship shakes the hand,
He stands between them too,
He pours the nectar in mother's kiss,
And the baby's sweet "mama",
Thou wert my god with prophets old,
All creeds do come from thee,
The Vedas, the Bible and Koran bold
Sing thee in harmony
- Swami Vivekananda
Definition and importance of harmony

Every religion, culture, society provides for living in harmony with
everything surrounding us since ages. Harmony is the fundamental law of creation,
it is the law that continues to govern our life. But etymologically harmony means
'joint'. Harmony is understood as binding together and being in concord with one
another and the cosmos. From a sociological perspective, harmony can be
understood as a mode of social existence. Social harmony means living with unity,
mutual reciprocity, beyond class, caste, creed and gender barriers. Sin or violence
emerges whenever this harmony is disturbed. Harmony by itself cannot be
disturbed. It needs an agent. Religious and communal harmony, economic
harmony, political harmony and ecological harmony are increasingly necessary
today. No human being enjoys disharmony or violence.
Definition of communal, communalism
‘Communal’ means: i) For common use or benefit shared; ii) Of or relating
to a commune; iii) Of or relating to the community and iv) Between different
communities. The new Webster's Encyclopaedia Dictionary of the English
language defines communalism as a theory or system of government in which each
commune is virtually an independent state, and the nation merely a federation of
such states. Another definition is 'strong allegiance to one's own ethnic group

rather than to society as a whole. Today the second expression seems to be more
appropriate.
Importance of media and communication in today’s world
"The only security of all is in a free press".
–Thomas Jefferson
Without the presence of thought provoking, mind dominating, opinion-
swaying media, we would as societies be lost and disconnected with each other.
We have access to the media almost everyday by surfing the net, reading
newspapers and magazines, watching television and by listening to the radio. In
today's era of information technology, media has a deep impact on how we think
and react. One can identify a leading role undertaken by media in Australia's multi-
cultural society, where media actively publicise and celebrates national harmony
day to foster communal harmony. Media's role in modern society is unchallenged.
What we need however is socially responsible media, "to contribute to a more
cohesive, equitable and harmonious international society." One cannot rely upon a
single entity to take decision for peace building but a significant role in this respect
has to be played by civil society through communication and manual efforts, by
technology that provides means to communicate, work, trade and share advance
knowledge, above all by media that provides realistic interpretations of reality and
a merge of these communication kinds through the advanced innovative approach
for policy-making, crisis management and peacemaking.
A study report has declared that in Cambodia when United Nations
Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) started dissemination of
information through its own news outlet, radio UNTAC and information network
of the NGOs many citizens reacted by turning out for the 1993 election. This
incident can serve as an example for defining the importance of media,
communication and technology in creating an awareness of human and political
rights that would in turn stimulate people to put in efforts for peace building.

In India media's positive role can be gauged from the newspapers
publishing reports about the Godhra massacre. The media covering the incident
had played an important role in extending cooperation across the community
barriers. This fact was established by two of the Baroda based organization Shanti
Abhiyaan and People's Union for Civil Liberties which had been following the
vernacular press and English newspapers to analyze the report of the incident
throughout the period of the Godhra massacre. Many a times, the newspaper plays
a lead role through peace giving headlines and news like the Gujarat Samachaar
that quoted in its 11th March 2002 edition that Lilapir durgah devotees included all
Hindus and Muslims and talked about Elol village being an example of communal
harmony. Newspapers have always been a medium for communicating solution,
knowledge and thus have succeeded in maintaining a good balance in its reporting
and constructing, encoding and representing realities.
Media has always been a source, arena and resource for gathering, selecting
and presenting realistic interpretations. Media was also ahead in covering most
peace and anti-war campaigns. Information supporting peace has flowed in
through television, magazines, radio, literature, art, music, films and through
various other cultural activities. Not to forget the advantages of internet and its
contribution towards peace building and peace making by providing education and
swift innovative communication that served in arousing people and improving
social and living conditions worldwide. In future, these medium would be able to
achieve computer aided peace and harmony that would overcome barriers and
tensions between cultures, societies and countries. A global consciousness in
minds of people would be achieved then. Any form of transfer of information and
knowledge plays an inordinate role in shaping the political consciousness among
people with even little experience and understanding which would continue in
future also and thereby directly contributing in building communal harmony. With
growing time and with developed and advanced approach these forms of media
would draw more audience into an alternate world and experience, thus

contributing the internet media role in advancing peace and harmony.
For example the international campaign to ban landmine had used the
internet and email technology for swift communication of knowledge, information
and message through its campaign and tried to empower people towards a
democratic change. The importance of internet and technology communication
could be viewed through fax machine system deployed that has overcome delay in
the exchange of any kind of information.
Waiter Lippmann, observed that modern life is so complex that we
necessarily learn of events via the press, claimed that the press functions like a
spotlight on a stage, focusing on a certain character or action. Since then, other
observers have discovered that the press does have, as political scientist Bernard
Cohen put it in a study of foreign media, the power to tell us what to think about,
although not what to think. The power of media reaches down to the edge of our
attitudes and values, but our values and attitudes also reach up. For messages to
become part of the total social fabric, there must be a marriage, a melding of
personal and media agendas. Certainly audiences do reach up and this is where
media's impact becomes visible.
Trends in media-power equations
Access to media is one of the key measures of power and equality. Media
can shape power and participation in society in negative ways, by obscuring the
motives and interests behind political decisions, or in positive ways, by promoting
the involvement of people in those decisions. In this respect the media and
governance equation becomes important. Media occupies a space that is constantly
contested, which is subject to organizational and technological restructuring, to
economic, cultural and political constraints, to commercial pressures and to
changing professional practices. The changing contours of this space can lead to
different patterns of domination and agenda-setting and to different degrees of
openness and closure in terms of access, patterns of ownership, available genres,
types of disclosure and range of opinions represented.

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely"
- LORD ACTON
Media also has assumed such power over a long period of time. Thus with
power comes the burden of huge responsibility. A form of power creation is seen
as - concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation) which
is a commonly used term that refers to the majority of the media outlets being
owned by a small number of conglomerates and corporations. These individual
media industries are often referred to as a 'Media Institution'. Media ownership
may refer to states of oligopoly or monopoly in a given media industry, or to the
importance of a low number of media conglomerates. Large media conglomerates
for example include Disney, National Amusements, Time Warner, Viacom, News
Corp, Bertelsmann AG, Sony, General Electric.
One may think why discuss about media consolidation, how does it play a
role in promoting communal harmony? Yes it very much does, because media by
itself is woven around a web of sub-systems which have to be also studied in
equal detail, as the final product depends on these factors too. Concentration of
media ownership is very frequently seen as a problem of contemporary media and
society. When media ownership is concentrated in one or more of the ways
mentioned above, a number of undesirable consequences follow, including the
following:
1. Commercially driven, ultra-powerful mass market media is primarily loyal
to sponsors, i.e. advertisers and government rather than to the public
interest.
2. For the general public, there are less diverse opinions and voices available
in the media.
3. For minorities and others, fewer opportunities are available for voicing their
concerns and reaching the public.
4. Healthy, market-based competition is absent, leading to slower innovation
and increased prices.
5. The companies dominating a media market choose to suppress stories that
do not serve their interests, the public suffers, since they are not adequately
informed of some crucial issues that may affect them. If the only media
outlets in town refuse to air a story, then the question becomes, who will?

An opposite evolution: massive diversification via citizen media on the
other hand can be observed to counter the consolidation forces. A massive
diversification of media, thanks to the Internet, materialized by millions of
websites, forums, blogs and wikis is taking place. That evolution, often labelled
citizen journalism or citizen media, makes it possible for practically everybody to
be a media creator, owner and actor, instead of a passive user. Citizen media
gradually take audiences out of the traditional media and weaken the role of
information professionals. Traditional media are slowly trying to adapt by
becoming more "participative", asking their readers or watchers to send their own
news.
In a democratic society, therefore, the role of the media assumes seminal
importance. Democracy implies participative governance, and it is the media that
informs people about various problems of society, which makes those wielding
power on their behalf answerable to them. That the actions of the government and
the state, and the efforts of competing parties and interests to exercise political
power should be underpinned and legitimized by critical scrutiny and informed
debate facilitated by the institutions of the media is a normative assumption
uniting the political spectrum. It has been further remarked by Davis Merritt, in
his work Public Journalism and Public Life that what journalists should bring to
the arena of public life is knowledge of the rules - how the public has decided a
democracy should work - and the ability and willingness to provide relevant
information and a place for that information to be discussed and turned into
democratic consent. They must exhibit no partisan interest in the specific outcome
other than it is arrived at under the democratic process.
Communal harmony issues-history and psychology

Few communal riots are accidental. Most are planned or preceded by
communal propaganda. While a riot is "a violent disturbance of the peace by an
assembly or body of persons," a pogrom is "an organized massacre". Before

media advances as a promoter of communal harmony one has to understand the
dynamics of lethal Communal Riots. After a brief overview of the complexities
of studying ethnic riots in India and elsewhere around the world, Horowitz noted
that one of the most troubling aspects of such riots was the level of violence.
While all riots tend to be destructive, he stressed that communal riots were
marked by extremely high levels of violence often resulting in numerous deaths
as well as maiming, looting, and destruction of property owned by the ethnic
group targeted .by the rioters. He opines that the orgy of killing in riots is largely
rationally planned and ignited by rumours. Then we need to ask despite this
complex psychology, how to maintain communal harmony.
What has retained communal harmony?

It is indeed one of the most pertinent questions of the hour. However, it is
also interesting to note that harmony and mutual coexistence is intrinsic to human
society for it is a society based on interdependence and exchange. Nevertheless, we
cannot turn a blind eye to the communal outbursts we have seen across history.
Most of these were politically motivated, but even political incitement has not
worked and the reason lies within people themselves. It is a question of daily needs
of people that converge at most of the points irrespective of socially, religiously or
politically constructed identities. We have always felt that despite belonging to
different faiths, human beings share the same bodily needs, everybody feels thirsty,
hunger pangs strike every stomach and communal riots only add to such woes by
making living conditions worse.
MODERN politics is largely a mediated politics, experienced by most
citizens through their broadcast and print media of choice. Any study of
democracy in contemporary conditions is, therefore, also a study of how the
media report and interpret political events and issues, and how media itself
influences the political processes and shapes public opinion. Thus, media has
become central to politics and public life in contemporary democracy.

Role of media in handling sensitive information
The media which enjoys utmost freedom of expression, has a great and vital
role to play in moulding public opinion on correct lines in regard to the need of
friendly and harmonious relations between various communities and religious
groups and thus promote national solidarity. The role of media in communally
tense situations is to be peacemakers and not abettors, to be trouble-shooters and
not troublemakers. Over the years in India, the Press Council of India has played a
key role as watchdog of the country. The riots of late 60's, the violence of 80-81,
the separatist movement of mid-eighties and early 90's the incidents at Ayodhya,
Mumbai, Gujarat saw reports on media's role and requirements based on which the
Council has advised the press to keep the following basic principles in mind while
covering communal disputes/clashes.
1. Journalists and columnists owe a very special responsibility to their country
in promoting communal peace and amity. Their writings are not a mere reflection
2. News, views or comments relating to communal or religious
disputes/clashes shall be published after proper verification of facts and presented
with due caution and restraint in a manner which is conducive to the creation of an
provocative and alarming headlines are to be avoided. Acts of communal violence
or vandalism shall be reported in a manner as may not undermine the people's
confidence in the law and order machinery of the State.
3. Giving community-wise figures of the victims of communal riot, or writing
about the incident in a style which is likely to inflame passions, aggravate the
tension, or accentuate the strained relations between the communities/religious
groups concerned, or which has a potential to exacerbate the trouble, shall be
avoided.

The media, as a chronicle of tomorrow's history, owes an undeniable duty to
and opinion thereon are a different genre altogether. The treatment of the two also
thus has necessarily to be different. In times of crisis, facts unadorned and simply
put, with due care and restraint, cannot be reasonably objected to in a democracy.
However, a heavy responsibility devolves on the author of opinion articles. The
author has to ensure that not only are his or her analysis free from any personal
preference, prejudices or notions, but also they are based on verified, accurate and
established facts and do not tend to foment disharmony or enmity between castes,
communities and races. Even while the controversy over the Danish Cartoons was
gaining momentum, in Varanasi, Hindus were felicitating a Muslim whose
alertness made possible the diffusion of a bomb at Dashmeshwar Ghat. The credit
for this can only go to the media. Therefore, I believe that the media of a country if
matured into an institution can through its initiatives and instruments stop the
spiral of hatred and obfuscation which in itself, constitutes a threat to international
peace and security.
Guidelines for handling communal riots by media in India

Press Media and awareness building should be undertaken as:
1. Promoting the cause of communal harmony and peace should be a constant
endeavour of the administration. For this, a multi-media publicity and promotion
campaign needs to be conducted, on a continuing basis, from time to time.
2. "Catch them young" should be the philosophy for promoting the concept of
communal harmony. Inspiring literature should be distributed among the school
students, both in the government and in the private sector, and they should be
encouraged to organize various competitions and talks on the subject of
communal harmony.
3. If any communal incident occurs, channels of contact with media should be
established at a responsible level. The objective is to provide the media with the

facts to avoid speculative reporting leading, inter alia, to fuelling rumours and
community sentiments.
4. Often, the electronic media continuously shows images of specific incidents,
which could lead to exaggerated perceptions about the incidents and lead to
provoking sentiments and passions. Regular monitoring and briefing of the media
in this context should be ensured:
5. Video/Audio coverage and cameras may be used to record the proceedings
and movements of such religious processions and gatherings, particularly where
the routes may be sensitive or, there may otherwise be even a remote apprehension
of possible untoward incidents. These recordings could be subsequently used, in
case of any communal disturbance, inter alia, for speedy identification and
prosecution of the / offenders and, in the process, could also act as deterrent.
Amongst all the freedoms available to man, freedom of speech and
expression is the most important one. Media role discussed above in variety of
dimensions, is inevitably one form of collective expression. Because it undertakes
this role of disseminating information, it's role and impact analysis becomes
necessary. After identifying the effectiveness of this powerful medium, which
alone touches different aspects of life globally one can conclude that media's role
in enhancing values of harmony and peace are huge. Let us all be informed
citizens for our country via a media which undertakes this onerous task of building
social capital across countries, minds and souls. Media education supports the
creation of an informed media public, a public that is able to critically judge
between good and bad media content. Simultaneously however, for a true
democracy, we also have to ensure that there is a strong stream of media free of
any government control, with free speech and free press.

Media has to be sensitive for harmony
HARSH MANGLA
India is a land of multifarious communities where every person
has a right to freedom of expressions. This freedom of expression is
availed by Indians in many forms. Out of the various such forms two
important forms are media and the freedom of joining a particular
group and preaching its view points and ideologies. First form has
given right to all the media forms to report about the various facts and
situations existing in the nation. Numerous forms of hard & soft, audio
& visual forms of media have crept into the whole society which
makes available to the public at large the minutest information from
the remotest places across nation. The second form allows the people
to join a particular group with whom these people can identify
themselves. Therefore, people unite in a group to manifest their
desires and ideologies. Sometimes these groups adopt the
fundamentalist approach and become so sensitive to their demands and
demonstrations that they adopt violent recourse and often trapped as
communal discord.
The media in India has been very active since the period even
before Indian independence. This active role of media has strengthened
even more after the Independence. However, many a times, debates are
undertaken among various sections of society whether· media in India
has played the expected role for promoting the communal harmony. To
understand this issue it is urgent to understand the state of Indian
society and that of communal harmony in India.
Indian society is divided into various categories among which
religion and caste system are prominent. People in India are free to
adopt any religion of their choice and by virtue of birth in a particular

community, the casts are assigned to the person within that particular
religion. However, in India this stratification is generally adhered to
rather strictly. The religious sentiments are strongly imbibed and within
a religion the cast system is followed to an extent that the lower casts
Indians feel that it is a social issue in their daily lives.
Due to the socialization practices adopted in the Indian family
systems, the situation of communal harmony in India has never been in
best of its form. People are not in harmony as far as cohesion with
other religious groups and casts are concerned. Though, the economic
integration in India has crossed all bounds and each small strata of the
society is engaged in one or the other form for economic purpose, there
is a large gap as far as the social and psychological interaction is
concerned. This is not the fact that there is no bonding at all between
these sections anywhere in India but generally in relatively poor and
uneducated sections, the incidents of communal discord can be found
relatively more. The examples can be seen in the attack on Christians in
Orissa and Karnataka, dispute between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat.
The people involved in these disputes are neither of high standards of
living nor very much educated in general. .
The media in India is very active these days. Numerous and ever
increasing newspaper agencies and news channels attempt to provide
coverage to all the incidents occurring in the area. However, this
coverage sometimes serves the purpose other than intended. Whatever
news is provided to the public creates an image in the minds of people
which encourages their actions accordingly. Though there are thousands
of different newspapers and magazines available in national and
regional languages but the reality is that people tend to read from one or
two sources only. This results into formation of people's viewpoint
similar to that of the newspaper which they read or the news channel

which they listen to. The media persons are also the human being and
while analyzing the situations to be reported, they are most likely to be
affected by their personal bias and consciousness. The viewpoint of that
particular media may not exactly reflect the situation at hand and it
tends to be affected by the personal beliefs and thoughts of the person
presenting it. In the numerous incidents of communal violence, it has
been observed that the media tend to circulate the news in such a
manner which preaches the ideology of the religion/ group with which
it is attached. They also tend to preach the ideologies of a particular
political party and hence the coverage is accordingly modified. In the
case of Hindu Muslim conflict in Gujarat, various newspapers
published news depicting the dreadful stories about the attack by
Hindus or Muslims on other group. Such news worsened the situation
by motivating the various groups to take revenge. Press Council of
India took the matter very strictly and advised the news paper media to
restrict its coverage so that the hatred is contained. In such case, no
doubt the media not only didn't play the positive role but also disturbed
the communal harmony.
However, despite experiencing the above, it will not be proper to
gag the media to cover the incidents in selective manner. As media has
freedom to express freely, people have also freedom to get the actual
state of the situation irrespective of the dreadfulness involved in those
incidents. The access to true information cannot be restricted from the
public. Now there emerges a contrast between the exercise of
fundamental rights by the people including media and the imposition of
restriction on this right by putting the shackles on the limits of media so
as to avoid the communal disharmony. To understand this issue, it is
urgent to notice about other details of the role media is playing these
days.

The reach of local media is limited upto its local clientele and
therefore its impact is also limited. Generally the attitudinal changes
brought about by the regional or national level modes of media are
greater and long term in duration. Therefore it should be worthwhile to
examine their contribution to the society. Broadly these days, both
visual and print media have expanded its role from merely reporting the
various incidents happening in the society to promoting the talents
existing in the society, social contribution by various segments, creating
awareness about the surroundings, spreading education level, presenting
various debates and expert reports etc. This all helps into creating a
view point in the society which provides to the administration various
cues to suitably mould its policies. The constructive steps adopted by
various organizations like NGOs, Civil Societies, Residents Welfare
Associations (RWAs), Political Parties or any individual are provided
sufficient coverage. Such coverage strengthens the harmony in the
society. The main reason why such coverage are effective in their
attempts and intentions is that such news are neutral and do not
particularly highlight any religious or communal group. People are also
receptive to the theme when they are not preoccupied with any sensitive
thoughts which they are really concerned for. In the incidents of
communal discord, such preoccupied thoughts of concern is the only
factor which make the people sceptic about the news and prefer only
those reports which provide them the sense of security or satisfaction.
Therefore they read/listen those reports in which they seem themselves
towards the winning side and if the situation in the reports seems
otherwise they make an attempt to turn that situation seeming to be in
their favour. This attempt only takes the form of communal violence.

Therefore, the impact of media in promoting the communal
harmony is beyond doubt. People cheer on the achievement of a kid in
the nationwide talent hunt programme irrespective of his religion. People
feel dejected about the people affected in flood or earthquake or any
other natural disaster irrespective of their belongingness to any religious
group. People adopt the practices followed by the progressive RWAs
without concerning that the residents are Hindus or Muslims etc. Civil
Societies and their main participants give their opinion on the national
issues without bias. All these reports and personal viewpoints are duly
reflected through the visual, audio or print media only. These days,
internet has become very strong media which have many forms of inter
group communication like blogging, email, social interaction websites
like orkut, facebook etc. These provide the opportunity to develop
sentiments on international issues and create harmony. The welfare
schemes adopted by the Government of India or state governments are
promoted through this media only. These benefits percolate to all the
people of a nation and credit goes to media only.
Few years back, the Times of India, a national daily English
newspaper, started a campaign "Lead India" wherein people were
selected from various zones of India and finally a winner at national
level was selected as a prospective leader of India. Through this process,
each religious and caste community got together and the great
deliberation was conducted on various issues concerning the people of
nation. Such activities though have not been adopted in past in large
number but certainly a new movement has been started and it is hopeful
that this will get more momentum in future.
From the above discussion it is amply clear that media has
contributed to both communal harmony as well as communal discord.
So it will be wrong to adopt either or position. However, lots of

concerted efforts are required to be adopted so that the ill effects of the
media can be curbed and positive effects can be magnified. It is clear
that same set of people react differently when they are party to the
incidents and when they have some preoccupied notions and faith than
when it is not the case. Therefore it is very important to understand each
case separately and to have the idea in advance about the impact of the
upcoming reports. The Indian social system has typical characteristics
and it needs to be deciphered properly. The media has to mould itself so
that the reports suit the typicality of that particular audience. A world
sans frontiers should be ultimate aim of humanity. While a long way is
yet to be traversed with a concerted efforts of every strata of the
societies of the world, the media has the capacity to play a leading role
in conceptualizing this ideology. Disputes and war makes news because
of the interest it evokes in the viewers. The media also focuses on and
even sensationalizes conflict because they believe that is what people
want. But what can war beget but more war and in this
media has a greater role to play. There are two ways of depicting any
incident of communal violence. One is to give its causes and antecedent
consequences which should be absolutely objective and other is
episodic or fragmenting accounts of such dramatic moments. The
former would encourage peace process through introspection and do a
service to the society.
The most basic feature of journalism training to a media person is
to be unbiased in reporting, but is this really possible? As already stated
above, media person behaves as normal people and his personal
sentiments and belief provide some bias in the reporting. An alternative
suggested to this in journalism training centers abroad is "peace
journalism in which reporters draw on their insights of conflict
assessment and resolution to try to better explain the interests of each

side and the conflict dynamics including courage of constructive or
escalatory moves". In addition, greater attention can be given to peace
processes and their contribution to the development of a country and its
people.
The Latin saying 'si vis pacem para baleum' (if you want peace,
prepare for war) may have been appropriate for Roman times, but it
militates against the ethos passed on to us by our civilization, which we
hold to be unique and conducive to the highest and most sublime of
human experiences. As our scripture extol: "Sarve Bhavantu sukhina;
sarve santu niramayaha." Therefore, the media needs to be a peacenik
with conviction that peace is the only path to progress and only then
would it lead others along that path. An individual whose words or
action affect an isolated few may form his own rules of conduct but can
a leader, which the media undoubtedly is, adopt this posture when it is in
a position of moulding and giving direction to the entire country. A true
leader would lead and not merely follow the demands of a crowd. Along
the path of human progress some adaptation may be inevitable, but let
this adaptation not imperil our basic deals and objectives.
Jawaharlal Nehru speaking of Mahatma Gandhi's contributions to
the world, had observed "we live today in a world torn with hatred and
violence and fear and passion, arid the shadow of war hangs heavily
over us all. Gandhi told us to cast away our fear and passion and to keep
away from hatred and violence. His voice may not be heard by many in
the tumult and shouting of today, but it will have to be heard and
understood some time or other, if this world is to survive in any
civilized form". It is not very encouraging to note that these remarks
remain as relevant today as they were decades ago. Over the past few
years, turmoil has brewed world over on a series of caricatures
published by a newspaper of Denmark. Similarly distressing portrayal of

some Gods and Goddesses has bred anger and protest. The media must
realize that the freedom enjoyed by it also casts on it a very heavy
responsibility. While it must in no way itself give rise to such
confrontations, it can play a salutary role in dousing the burning fires of
religious passions.
Therefore, now there seems to be some way out where there can be
maintained a fair balance between the Fundamental rights of media to
report the incidents, fundamental rights of Indian citizens to know about
incidents and the moral responsibility of media to report in objective
manners. The Constitution of India, provides many conditions in which
the reasonable restrictions may be put on the exercise of fundamental
rights. Such conditions are like maintaining public order, public decency
and maintenance of internal integrity of the nation. Therefore, it would
not be gagging if some restrictions are put on the media about the
reporting of various reports. The guidelines may be issued for example
Press Trust of India has already issued many guidelines about how to
handle and publish the news which are communally sensitive. However,
mere issuance of some guidelines do not fulfil their objectives. There
needs to be a great responsibility on the part of the enforcer and also a
greater responsibility on the media. Unless media is sensitive
enough itself, there is not going to be much difference due to any
guidelines. The day such will happen, the debates like role of media in
promoting communal harmony shall also be stopped automatically.

Media is a double edged sword
MARIAM F. SADHIQ
Today, media impacts the lives of one and all in several different ways. It
affects the way we think, our attitude and actions too. This being the case what is
the role of media in promoting communal harmony, especially in a diverse country
like India? In fact, media is one of the most powerful tools to promote communal
harmony. It can be very effective in promoting democracy, equality, tolerance and
other positive social values in several ways. But market driven media culture has
eroded the credibility of its real work – at least to a large extent.
The media should strictly adhere to proper norms and standards in reporting
or commenting on matters, which bear on communal relations. One such important
norm is not to distort, or exaggerate, not to employ intemperate, inciting and
unrestrained language. The local papers particularly should strictly adhere to this
norm.
Every profession functions by certain norms of conduct evolved by years of
practice with objective to improve its standards to prevent its abuse and above all
contribute to the society and social development. There was a time when
journalism was a mission. Soon it became a profession and is now run as a full-
fledged business activity like any other enterprise. Journalism has expanded in its
role and its activities and has also grown in power. Codification of its work ethics
is therefore an imperative need.
The Press Council of India, in keeping with its mandate to build up a code of
conduct for newspapers, news agencies and journalists in accordance with high
professional standards, has on the basis of its adjudications of cases from time to
time, built up a code of journalistic norms. Though these codes have emerged out
of cases relating to print media the fundamental principles evolved in the process
are as much relevant to radio and television.

Journalists and columnists owe a very special responsibility to their country
in promoting communal peace and amity. Their writings are not a mere reflection
News, views or comments relating to communal or religious disputes/
clashes shall be published after proper verification of facts and presented with due
caution and restraint in a manner; which is conducive to the creation of an
provocative and alarming headlines are to be avoided. Acts of communal violence
or vandalism shall be reported in a manner as may not undermine the people's
confidence in the law and order machinery of the State. Giving community-wise
figures of the victims of communal riot, or writing about the incident in a style
which is likely to inflame passions, aggravate the tension, or accentuate the
strained relations between the communities/religious groups concerned, or which
has a potential to exacerbate the trouble, shall be avoided.
The media, as a chronicle of tomorrow's history, owes an undeniable duty to
and opinion thereon are a different genre altogether. The treatment of the two also
thus has necessarily to be different. In times of crisis, facts unadorned and simply
put, with due care and restraint, cannot be reasonably objected to in a democracy.
However, a heavy responsibility devolves on the author of opinion articles. The
author has to ensure that not only his or her analysis free from any personal
preference, prejudices or notions, but also they are based on verified, accurate and
established facts and do not tend to foment disharmony or enmity between castes,
communities and races.
All disorders, which acquire communal character, make news. It is
axiomatic that they cause divisiveness and hatred among the common people. It is
needless to say reporting of such an event is as sensitive, delicate and challenging

as the event. The media, which enjoys the utmost freedom of expression, has a
great and vital role to play moulding public opinion on correct lines in regard to the
need of friendly and harmonious relations between various communities and
religious groups and thus promote national solidarity.
The role of media in such situations is to be peacemakers and not abettors, to
be trouble shooters and not troublemakers. Let the media play their noble role of
promoting peace and harmony among the people in the present crisis in Gujarat.
Any trend to disrupt the same either directly or indirectly would be an anti-national
act.
The first communal carnage of the new millennium, and the first such
incident after a decade's gap in India, saw the use of new and old media as well as
communication tools to spread hate and violence and to ensure collaboration in
violent attacks. In fact, the media as well as new age communication devices
played a dual role. Mobile telephone calls, SMS messages, email, websites,
newspapers, television broadcasts, private television channels and desktop printers
were used to spread hate campaign and to instigate violence in Gujarat as never
before on the one hand.
On the other, large section of the media, especially the national print and
electronic media, stood firmly as one bloc, criticising the violence and exposing its
perpetrators and collaborators. A few bold reporters and amateur filmmakers used
compact digital video recorders to document, broadcast or disseminate through
CDs accounts of the targeted violence. There were also initiatives to use the media
to spread messages of peace, communal harmony and to provide life- saving
information about relief. However, such initiatives were limited.
Thus media and its role in communal peace and harmony is like a double edged
sword. There should be fair, impartial, reliable reporting and accurate news analyzation.
As far as news is concerned, media should take a very rigid stand to analyze the
news, how it happens and how it came into the existence to know the root cause of
the problem. But rather going deep into the problem, journalists are blindly

accepting the truth which is formulated by the police or some social evil elements
and proliferate the same publicly. In many cases innocent people have been charged
and guilty enjoy their sins with the contentment to commit it again. Hence media
should act responsibly and in a proactive manner thereby contributing to national
peace and harmony.

The press is the best instrument for enlightening the minds of men
V. LALITHALAKSHMI
India is a multi-ethnic, multi-religions, multi-lingual society harbouring

a vast variety of races, tribes, castes, communities, religions, languages,
customs and living styles. Each cultural group has its own set of cultural
traits and is a community in itself. It is but natural that the groups develop a
sense of belongingness to their own group. This feeling of belongingness to
the group of which one is a part can be termed as communalism. In India,
communalism manifests itself in the form of linguism (where language is
the binding force), regionalism (where region is the cohesive factor) and
religious communalism (where religion forms the basis for community
formation).
Communalism as such does not have negative connotations. It is
functional for the society to the extent that it creates unity within the
group/community. It stimulates the members of the community to work
together for the upliftment of the group. However, communalism is not
limited to this. The feeling of oneness from being absolute slowly gives way
to a feeling of relative oneness whereby communities perceive themselves
in terms of other communities. The cultural traits of the community to which
one belongs are considered to be superior compared to others and
conscious efforts are made to preserve them. The practices followed by
other communities are considered as a threat to the existence of the
community. This promotes antagonistic relations between communities and
in its extreme form, communalism manifests itself in the form of annihilation
of out-groups. Communal riots are an example of this form of
communalism. India has been witness to many instances of communal
hate and violence.

There are many reasons for the growth of communal feelings in India.
From the point of view of the communities whose numbers are more, there
is a feeling of loss of socio-economic space to the minorities. This is also
compounded by the fact that there are special safeguards that have been
provided to the minorities under the Constitution of the country.
From the point of view of the minorities, there is a fear of
assimilation into the majority fold and loss of identity. This explains the
resistance to the introduction of Hindi in southern states.
Further, the level of socio-economic-educational development is
different among different communities. This leads to a sense of relative
deprivation among communities.
Politicisation of the conflict has further aggravated the distance
between the communities and prevents fruitful interactions between
various communities. Communal identities are ready made platforms for
political mobilization in the country and passions can easily whipped up in
the name of these identities. This explains the growth of regional parties in
the national politics.
There are anti-social elements which have vested interest in a
situation of anomie in the society. Hence these elements constantly try to
capitalize on the situation of mutual hatred between communities. There is
mass looting during communal riots and wrongs done in such a situation
often go unpunished.
India has had a history full of instances of communal hatred and no
part of the country is free from this phenomenon. These range from minor
localized events to major riots involving displacement of population across
borders. Be it the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits form the Kashmir
valley in the north or the anti English-Hindi-Sanskrit movement in the
south, the issue of separatism in the North-East on the basis of ethnicity
or the Gujarat and Mumbai riots in the west, India has been a witness to

events attributable to communalism across space and time.
Considering the seriousness of the issue, there is an urgent need to
check this dangerous tendency. The approach has to be basically two-
fold- firstly to check communalism and secondly to promote nationalism
(feeling of oneness of a nation irrespective of caste, creed, language and
religion) and media has a major role to play in promoting communal
harmony in India.
Role of media in providing information
Mark Twain has highlighted the role of media in information
dissemination. He stated that, "There are only two forces that can carry
light to all the corners of the globe ... the sun in the heavens and the
Associated Press 'down here”
Media plugs the information gap during a situation of communal
tension by covering the events and bringing to light the happenings to all
parts of the country. The Journalists from news papers and television
channels have risked life and personal safety to bring first hand information
on communal tensions across the country. With news pouring in 24 hours a
day, the media has bridged the time and space gap in respect of
information. The media has made the best use of technology in this regard.
This is evident in the live coverage of events. For instance, the news of
riots in 1984 in Delhi and 1989 in Bhagalpur took quite some time to reach
the other parts of the country unlike the news of say Gujarat / Mumbai. The
availability of information in real time is a must for checking communal
tendencies. In the words of Amy Goodman, 'Independent media can go to
where the silence is and break the sound barrier".
Role of media in curbing anti-social activities
The plethora of information available with the media can be made
used of to book the anti-social elements and criminals involved in rioting
and causing communal tensions. The media coverage acts as an agent of

social control over anti-social elements who are exposed in the pictures
both still and motion shot by the media. There have been instances where
the police have been able to arrest rioters on the basis of video footages
shot by media personnel.
Role of media in promotion of Justice
The media has also a role to play in championing the cause of justice
to victims of communal tensions. For instance, the media has closely
followed the story of Graham Staines and Zahira Shaikh in the fight to
justice. The media also managed to trace an alleged eye -witness of the
1984 anti-sikh riots. The media has brought off some sting operations
unearthing the role of various people in the various tense communal
situations. In another case, the media closely followed the case of Dr. Md.
Haneef who was wrongly arrested in Australia in connection with
the car bomb case in Glasgow, UK and brought about pressure ultimately
leading to his acquittal.
Role of media in provision of relief and rehabilitation

The media also has a role to play in covering the aftermath of riots
like, rehabilitation and return to normalcy in the riots affected areas. The
media has to act as the unelected opposition in highlighting the
deficiencies in the post riot rehabilitation situations and keep a constant
vigil for any act which could cause a relapse into tense situation once
again. Thomas Jefferson has stated that "No government ought to be
without censors; and where the press is free no one ever will.”
Role of media in projection of the ill-effects of communalism
The media has a role to play in highlighting the maladies of
communalism and suffering of the common man as a result of communal
hatred. For instance, Indian media has depicted the plight of Kashmiri
Pandits in the movie 'Sheen'. The film 'Maachis' highlights the issue of

extremism in Punjab and tries to look into the reasons behind such
extremism. Movies like Final Solution and Parzania were made based on
the Gujarat riots. A Malayalam movie 'Vilapangalku Appuram' based on the
aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots. The film, Amu takes a look at the anti-
sikh riots of 1984. There have been several accounts of partition of India
ranging from Television serials like Buniyaad to films like Gram Hawa,
Meghe Dhaka tara, Komal Gandhaar, Khamosh Paani and 1947 Earth.
The print media has played its part in presenting various accounts of
tense communal situations in India. Numerous books such as Hoshiyarpur
se Lahore tak, Train to Pakistan, Ice-candy man, The Broken Mirror etc
bring out the experiences of common men during the tragedy following
partition of India in 1947. The book Pinjar later made into a feature film
depicts plight of women who were the most vulnerable section of the
population during partition.
Responsibility of media in maintaining communal harmony
The media in India has to act responsibly. In this age of cut-throat
competition, the various news channels tend to sensationalise news items
often leading to disastrous consequences. During the Gujarat riots the
media came out with many sensitive pictures of the riots. These pictures
have been made use of by communal elements to whip up communal
passions and attract and recruit vulnerable sections of the population into
the communal ideology. It is seen that the pictures of Gujarat and Babri
Masjid have been used extensively to motivate youth to take up arms for
carrying out terror attacks as revenge for the same. The subsequent
investigations during the blasts at Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Delhi
and Mumbai have revealed this.
In another instance, the news channels went on to air erroneous
reports on the bomb blasts in Mumbai. The various channels looking to pull
off a scoop reported that blasts had taken place in areas where actually

there were no blasts. During such situations, with cell phones also
jammed, people look up to television channels for accurate information. In
the instant case, the wrong reporting caused more panic and commotion
among people. In this context, Norman Mailer has mentioned that "Once a
newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to the
protagonists”.
In the context, it is also said that 'If you don't read the newspaper,
you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed”.
More often than not, media is used as a tool to promote communal
feelings as it has the widest coverage and is thus the easiest way to reach
across to many people. For instance, Aftab, a local Urdu newspaper of the
Kashmir Valley, published a press release issued by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in. 1989 to wage Jihad for Jammu and
Kashmir's secession from India and accession to Pakistan, asking all
Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, Al Safa, repeated this
expulsion order. More recent is the allegation made against two local
newspapers of Mangalore, namely, Karavali Ale and Vijaya Kirana where
by the news papers have been accused of instigating communal
sentiments by publishing wrong reports and also provocative images during
the recent communal tensions in Mangalore. This is not a new
phenomenon. The media has been used to propagate communal literature
even during British times.
It is also seen that many a times, there are articles and opinions
brought out in the media which are biased or which are vulnerable to
communal interpretations. There have been instances where the media
has taken sides instead of unbiased reporting. Further, there are
newspapers which openly support certain ideologies and political parties
which claim to follow these ideologies. There have also been instances of
under-reporting. For instance, there have been claims that the history of

the Islamic invasion of India is being systematically whitewashed and
censored in Indian school-books and in other media. There have been
allegations that the Indian media rarely reports the human rights violations
against Muslims in Indian administered Kashmir and human rights
violations in the North-East.
On the other hand, It is also felt by many that many media stations in
India provided vast coverage of the Gujarat Riots in 2002 in which a large
number of Muslims were murdered but have often failed to report on the
persecution of Hindus in Muslim-dominated Jammu & Kashmir.
In this context, Malcolm X has pointed out that “If you're not careful,
the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed,
and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”
Thus, it is the responsibility of the media to exercise restraint
wherever and whenever necessary in the interest of the larger public. It is
not out of place to mention here that 'Freedom of expression' is a delicate
right which has to be exercised in utmost responsible manner. This
freedom is a cherished one considering that there have always been
restrictions on media during the British times. Considering this, there is all
the more responsibility on the media to join hands and bring out the
moderate and liberal opinion of the society in order to counter these
aberrations and allegations.
Role of media in promoting National Unity
Prevention of communalism is only one side of the coin. In a country
like India characterized by diversities, it is not sufficient that the different
communities exist side by side. There has to be something which all the
people of India come about to share. This is the feeling of belongingness to
an entity larger than that of their community, which is India. The Indian
identity has two parts, the individual identity of each person whereby each
individual relates to his own community (uniqueness) and the overall

identity of being an Indian whereby each individual shares commonality
with individuals of all other communities. The easiest way of
communicating the same to vast sections of the country is through media.
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "The press is the best instrument for
enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and
social being.”
For instance, there have been short films national television where
celebrities from all walks of life have come together to promote the cause
of national integration. Most notable is the short film titled 'mile sur mera
tumhara' which used 'Des Raaga' to convey the message of Unity in
Diversity. The Vande Mataram and Khadi series is the latest addition to this
list. Media can effectively be used to convey the message of tolerance,
non-violence and peace.
The greatest strength of India is its diversity whereby the focus is on
unity and not uniformity, cohesion and not fusion, integration and not
assimilation. Politically neutral, socially responsible, psychologically mature
and culturally tolerant media is the best instrument to carry this message
far and wide and promote communal harmony.
As has been pointed out by Arthur Miller, “A good newspaper, I
suppose, is a nation talking to itself."

Media must help society to define and promote right values
KARMA DORJI
Media today has a major role to play in this democratic world to give first
hand information to the public. This fundamental institution of democratic
governance, the media reflects public opinion, but plays a vital role in creating and
shaping it.
Media has both the sides of positive and negative. The positive nature of the
media is not given much attention. It is not because the benefits of the media are
not realized but the ill effects of the media have been widely discussed
and given more attention.
Media has the greatest influential power. It can shape people's attitude and
expression. It can shape the country in particular and world at large, making it
better place to live in or the worse place to live in. The media can create terror or
comfort by giving discouraging or encouraging news.
Many believe that the media\should be truly free and should not be restricted
by cultural constraints or public emotion and moral values. It is difficult to agree to
this point. In fact, an enlightened media should strive to inform the public, to create
and sustain as a wide range of interests as possible and encourage debate, which
involve accurate and impartial presentation of news and views and evaluation of
conflicting ideas. Today the culture is affected by new values emanated out of print
media, television, internet and cinema. Media has important role to play in
preserving and supporting culture. It should not lose itself to the demands of the
market and the politics of the' day. The media must be conscious of our blatant and
inherent biases, be it religious, political, gender and age to ensure that the society is
not divided based on religion, political, region, linguistic and so on and so forth.
Media must help society to understand change and, in the process, define
and promote right values. Media, in the democratic governance has always

played role to provide public space for people's views and initiate public
discussion.
In Bhutan, the young media has played a positive role in making the first
election of Bhutan a successful one. Bhutanese news media- Bhutan Broadcasting
Service Corporation (TV), Bhutan Times, Bhutan Observer and national news
paper Kuensel has widely covered the news on party campaign, highlighted their
malpractices and of course their positive approach without partiality and siding any
political party. This has facilitated the general public to make the best choice of
Government. This is the positive side of media's role.
However, the newspaper doesn't realize or overlook few small but equally
important things that would not only have short term implication but long term
impact. For instance, a line of sentence can create lots of doubts, suspicion and
bring various sorts of interpretation if words are not given due care.
Let me share my experience. A journalist from the Bhutan Observer had
come to meet me to confirm a threat letter received from some anti-social
elements which states that random blast will be carried out in the country. I
explained to him that the report is purely an unconfirmed one and it is not
likely to happen and therefore we should not terrorise the general public. Well,
he did not listen to me and has brought out the news with terrifying headline.
Here, the media is giving an impression of a world famous peaceful country
to be totally unsafe to live in which is absolutely untrue. Moreover, if such
news keeps on coming on the news paper based on un-reliable source,
people will loose faith in newspaper and will not believe the news even
when the news is genuine and has the role to play for alerting general public.
It was in 1990 when a news paper brought an article on drug abuse in the
country where it had mentioned names of various drugs which even the Bhutanese
drug abusers were not aware of. This article had become like a drug advertisement
rather than its role to inform the public on its ill effects on individual and society as
a whole.

Bhutan believes in one nation and one people. People should not be divided
by religion, cast creed and region and create countries within a country. But on the
other hand if media writes that east is better than west or west is better than east,
the very word- east and west will create regional divide. The Bhutan Times had
brought out a tabulated report indicating community to which the elected members
of the MPs belong to. A constituency will have more than 4 or 5 different
communities based on mostly dialects in the case of Bhutan. Here, the media is
promoting sense of regionalism and create division. Candidates for MPs should be
elected not based on region but it should be based on one's competency and
capability. It is because of such misled information that creates majority and
minority in this very democratic world situation.
In the 90s the Bhutanese could speak Hindi better than the National
language. It was because Hindi movies were popular in Bhutan and did not have its
own local movie production. Since 2000, with the development of Bhutanese film
industry, it has changed the scenario. Now the Bhutanese theatres are always
booked by Bhutanese films released almost every month. The children of today see
Bhutanese movies and sing Bhutanese songs. Media has therefore helped promote
our own language and culture. On the other hand, movie is a power of influence
which can shape ones attitude, life style and ideologies. The movie makers
therefore should be highly sensitized to ensure and maintain moral values, cultural
ethics and beliefs. The story line should be well taken care to ensure that it does
not include any sensitive issues which may be capable of bringing communal
disharmony. For example; many youths are influenced by their favourite hero and
take up smoking imitating the actor.
It is always an experience for all the people that many a times the media
brings out articles which are biased and vulnerable to communal psychoanalysis.
At times the media report is much influenced by the reporter itself in the sense that
the particular article may take sides of certain ideologies and political parties in
which the reporter has faith. Sometimes, the reports are incomplete where issues

may be highlighted but unbiased and. correct analysis are absent which gives only
one sided story.
Pluralism is regarded as the very essence of democracy. Media therefore
must not bring out any opinion which will only promote identity of majority and
neglect the minority. Media should ensure that no word, no sentence and no article
give an impression that the majoritarian ethos as the national ethos, and the
predominant culture as the mainstream culture. If the primacy of the majoritarian
values and culture is accepted, then the minorities are likely to be marginalized and
alienated and it will cause minority revolution. It will make minority insecure in its
own homestead. Therefore, any desire for majoritarian dominance must be
consciously eschewed.
National identities should not be defined in a narrow or exclusive way.
Minorities should not be excluded in the self definition of the nation state. Such a
self definition is bound to alienate the minorities and give them very little stake in
the society.
There should be a conscious effort at all levels to reach out to the minority
communities. The members of the majority community should make it a point to
acquaint themselves with the religion, philosophy, values, language, tradition and
practices of the minority communities. These should be consciously appreciated
and cherished. The majority group must express its affection for its own
countrymen from the minority group through social integration to convince them
that they belong to the same family/ state.
The state should, in collaboration with civil society, initiate through the
media and the educational system, measures to enable citizens to overcome
ignorance, prejudices and fixed mindsets regarding the characteristics of people
belonging to other communities. Textbooks, particularly of history, philosophy and
social studies, for children and young people, should be carefully screened to
remove from them all stereotypes and misinformation.

The foundations of pluralism are rudely shaken with every act of violence
against the minority community. Therefore, a pluralistic state should not
put up with acts of violence, aggression and intimidation by one community
against the other, and least of all by the majority community against the
minority communities. In such circumstances, the reaction of the state
should be prompt, unambiguous, firm and decisive. The state cannot afford
to waiver, hesitate, prevaricate or delay. It must immediately display its
capacity to act and its absolute firmness of purpose.
It is, when our natural phenomenon tendency of discriminating nature or
mindset express openly insensitive words which may be discriminating or
deemed discriminatory without much care causes communal disharmony.
Therefore, newspapers, televisions, internet articles, educational text books
and any other forms of media must be free of sensitive words which may
misled and divide the community and cause rivalry and revolution in the
country. The writers should not write without considering communal
sensitivity, the political leaders should not only choose majority for power,
the bureaucrats should not act partial and so on. Lastly, I plead to all the
scholars, writers, political leaders and bureaucrats to sensibly ensure that the
country's peace and national security is not exchanged for money, power
and status through insensitive actions.

Media can steer the country in a direction where peace prevails
RAHUL JAIN
India is a country of diverse culture, religions and ethnicity. Geographically,

India is counted as a subcontinent and one sixth of human population lives here.
This short description of India, suffices to lead us to the conclusion that so many
people are to live on the same land there should be an environment of vibrating
and thriving harmony and peace. Only this can ensure an overall well being and
holistic, inclusive development of the people.
But the time and space in which we are living, the experience tells a
different story, which may not be very coherent with the imagined and desired
social norms. The existing humanist organisations are cramped by an inability to
overcome the conservatism of their own members and are unwilling or unable to
expand enough to undertake all the activities that are needed in the increasingly
demanding market place for information and presentation of the rationale for
secularism. Things have deteriorated since the main humanist organisation has,
through recruiting lost much of its ideology.
Atheism has always been suppressed, now much of the current membership
seems unable to open up to the new possibilities for them to explain the need for
secular humanism to the wider public. Some are so confined within the security of
their little cliques, that they seem afraid, not only of the wider public, but of their
own members and supporters. Some are almost entirely dormant and in no way
fulfilling the expectations of their founders.
Even now they stubbornly refuse to link the many web-sites of independent
atheists thinking and writing on the Internet. And seek to suppress rather than
promote their own talent, relying solely on a few already well known journalists.
The other serious problem is their apparent inability to co-operate with each
other where appropriate, in the interests of not only their members but to the
advantage of the whole community.

No joint advertising, no co-ordination of information, or promotion of print
and Internet sources through its journals. They are so afraid of criticism that it only
uses closed discussion forums.
Thus to break away from the ghettos and come out in open, the sharing of
information is of paramount importance. This can be effectively done by the media
of modern days. The purpose of the media is to stir up some of the stagnation and
inward looking attitudes that prevail there and deliver a kick up the pants to get
them to open up and promote all those atheists and secular humanists who want to
be active, and want their opinions heard in public debate, but are just used to make
up the numbers and keep quiet.
Atheists, who support the humanist cause for its different approach, still
want it to represent the core values of atheism and secularism.
Interested people need to be able to get information about the issues, and the
range of issues, on which the churches and religions seek to maintain their
dominance, and see their national organisation making the running, not trailing
behind.
Religion is so ingrained within our culture that many people do not
recognise its all pervasive presence. Many of these issues need clarification, if we
are to challenge the religious agenda that still persists. There are so many issues
over the whole range of human activity, public policy and public attitudes, political
and personal, on which religion shapes our lives.
Power of Media
The media of modem days, equipped with the mighty electronic means of
communication which are swift and carry a wider reach, which was never possible
earlier in the times of print media, is so powerful that it influences every section of
society. The means of communication, apart from television, radio, and newspaper
are websites, mobile phones, e mails, wireless, sms etc. With these instruments
even a street toddler may be covered. This leaves it to the wisdom of the media
what direction does it give to the information. It may use it or it may misuse it.

Print
As an example during the Gujarat riots, the local Gujarati press took to
biased reporting. The Editors' Guild report noted the communal role played by
certain Gujarati newspapers including two leading language newspapers, Gujarat
Samachar and Sandesh. There were several instance of misreporting. At the same
time there was no report on the plight of the people in the relief camp or interview
with the victims except in one local newspaper, Gujarat Today.
In an interview to the Editors Guild Fact Finding Mission Report, the Chief
Managing Director and Editor of Sandesh, Falgun Patel, admitted that his reporters
did sometimes lose the balance and were communalised down the line. He said that
the reaction to Godhra was ''justified''. He claimed that owing to its "pro-Hindu"
stand Sandesh's circulation had increased by 150,000 since the violence began.
Gujarat Samachar's owner-Editor Shreyans Shah told the Editors Guild team that
his daily's circulation had increased by around 50,000 during the course of the
carnage.
Television
This incident demonstrates that what influence can media exert over the
thinking of the common man. It can virtually sway the opinion of people in one
direction or the other. Based on their information and hence their perception people
form opinions. It is therefore, responsibility of the media or the people at the helm
of affairs that they provide fair deal to the people, in order to promote the integrity
and harmony. The role which media can play may be even stronger during the
ongoing riots. During the violence what subscribers want from their local
(electronic) media (including cable networks) is positive stories of community
living and hard information about incident-prone areas, curfew hours, safe routes
for commuting and so forth. This is not much of an expectation and is easy for the
cable operators to disseminate provided they have will and are genuinely
interested.

Radio
Apart from the television, radio also has a wide reach and is also a state
controlled body. It may act independently during the riots and violence and provide
with accurate information which may be of vital use.
Phones
Mobile telephones can be powerful tools for people coordinating violence as
well as those trying to report it under great risk to their safety. Members of several
mobs that attack minority residential areas and business establishments carry
mobile telephone, either receiving orders or briefing someone away from the actual
site of violence. During the Gujarat violence National Human Rights Commission,
while pointing out "local factors and players" overwhelming the district officers in
certain instances where situation got out of control. "Such information had been
sought from the State Government particularly since there were widespread reports
of well-organized persons, armed with mobile telephones and addresses, singling
out certain homes and properties for death and destruction. The Gujarat riots
probably mark the first occasion when digital media has been so extensively used,
if at all. Rioters and middle class looters were directed by mobile phones.
E-Mails
We see in our day to day business several emails which spread the message of
communal harmony, in a very effective way. They are so beautifully designed with
power point presentations that they immediately attract the attention. Similarly
emails can be used to spread the hate message and incite the communal tension.
Similar thing happened in Gujarat when for the first time along with short message
service (sms) the emails were used to incite people communally. One e-mail was
specifically asking the readers to boycott Muslim shops and vendors.
Websites
Many positive initiates can be taken through the websites to spread the
communal harmony. The accurate and authentic information can be disseminated
through it to the educated class which can further take up the information to the

uneducated class or to those who do not have access to internet. On the contrary
these may be as powerful tools of destruction as well.
Initiatives Media has taken
The media is indeed doing quite a bit towards promoting communal
harmony as a very vital necessity - through debates and dialogues and critiques on
violations of this value. It promotes democracy, equality, tolerance and other
positive social values through different documentary, case studies etc. On
numerous T.V. channels we see debates, the programmes like "Devil's Advocate"
hosted by Karan Thapar, "We The People" hosted by Barkha Dutt, and articles
written by Vir Singhvi in Hindustan Times are live examples of the breath taking
debates. The editorials of several national and serious newspapers are making an
impact on the thinking of the educated community. They bring to fore the real
living conditions of the minorities and their actual needs. In this process they act as
interface between the larger community that is the mainstream community,
government and the minority. This is how they create a talking platform and the
social fabric is intertwined. But ultimately it falls upon the people who have to take
the responsibility to bring a change in their thinking. The media can act as a
medium and mechanism, but change has to be brought by the people themselves.
Harassment of Independent Media
Performing its role in bringing a change in people's thinking and establishing
a harmonious environment puts impediments in the nefarious ideas of selfish
quarters. Independent media is criticised by the rioters, as well as the Government
for portraying the meticulous targeting of minority establishments and households
in the attacks. "They only listen to minorities and ignore the mainstream
community," is a common complaint. Taking up the case of Gujarat riots,
television news programme Aaj Tak, invited harsh attack, especially for its prompt
coverage of the first few hours of the carnage. Major national dailies, The Indian
Express and The Times of India, both of which have Ahmedabad editions were
also singled out for mention.

The administration often came down heavily on independent media because
the coverage did not suit its interest. Many correspondents covering the riots were
put through personal test by rampaging mobs. Journalists took it as part of
occupational hazard, but the harassment from officials came as a shock. The police
confiscated from a national television correspondent a videotape containing fresh
footage of victims criticising the police for inaction for two days. The editor of the
channel called from Delhi to put pressure on the Chief Minister's office and the
tape was returned, but after erasing four minutes of crucial footage.
Conclusion
The media has all the necessary equipment and power at its disposal in
spreading the communal harmony. What is required is its will to fulfil its
responsibility. It can be easily done if they understand their social responsibility.
Though it is difficult but they necessarily have to resist the pressure exerted on
them by the quarters who have vested interest in inciting communal violence. If
they command a control over the thinking of the people they must steer it in a
direction where the peace prevails. That is how the goals mentioned in the
preamble to the constitution viz. social justice, fraternity, equality etc may be
achieved.

Content of the Media should be congenial for Harmony
DR. DHAVALKUMAR K. PATE
"There are as many religions as there are individuals; but those who are conscious
of the spirit of nationality do not interfere with one another's religion. If Hindus
believe that India should be peopled only by Hindus, they are living in a
dreamland. The Hindus, the Mohammedans, the Parsis and the Christians who
have made their country are fellow countrymen and they will have to live in unity if
only for their own interest. In no part of the world are one nationality and one
religion synonymous terms; nor has it ever been so in India.”
Mahatma Gandhi
In today's India we have perhaps forgotten this great piece of advice of our
father of nation. Today there is a major feeling of distrust and grudge amongst the
communities of this great nation.
India has always been a mixture of different ethnic, religious, linguistic and
other communities. And it has witnessed many disputes and clashes among the
same. Today we are far from a country with a good harmonious population, and it
has also had its repercussion on the economic and cultural front, too.
Communalism as defined by oxford dictionary is a theory or system of
government in which each commune is virtually an independent state, and the
nation merely a federation of such states. Another definition is strong allegiance to
one's own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole. Unfortunately, in the
Indian context, communalism has acquired a perverted connotation and means the
evil practice of exploiting religion or caste by the members of a community/caste
or party to get an unfair political advantage, undue material gain, patronage, or
favourable treatment as against the legitimate rights, interests, and aspirations of a
rival community.
Communal harmony is not merely absence of communalism but also a state
in which the different communities live comfortably, amicably, peacefully and
productively with one another.

Our constitution guarantees secularism in its preamble and other provisions
such as fundamental guarantees of freedom of conscience, practice and
propagation of religion (Article 25) and also freedom at religious instruction in
certain educational and cultural institutions (Article 28). It also provided for was
the protection of the cultural and educational rights of minorities (Article 28 and
30). An important and integral part of these Articles is Article 19(1) that embodies
the faith our constitution framers had in the press of the county in promoting the
above principles.
But our forefathers' trust in media and constitution of India has not
materialised itself in the sphere of communal harmony as it should have been.
But why is the role of popular media so important in extinguishing communal
hatred and promoting communal harmony? Why so much importance had been and
has been given to an unbiased and pro active press?
One of the answers is the information asymmetry. Press and media due to
their dedicated network of reporters and respondents are better informed about the
happenings of any incident. Most of other people are not privy to first hand
information. Majority of the people depend on the media for the information. And
it is the only means for the outsiders and international world to know about any
incident. Thus it is ethical and moral responsibility of the media to present before
its audience the information in an unbiased and undistorted form.
The media has a wide and all encompassing coverage today. Nobody in
India today is aloof from what is happening around him, because of the media.
And the eminent media persons, performers, actors and actresses, sports persons,
news analysts, column writers, news readers etc. have a large clientele and are in
an influential position. Their views and presentations more easily accepted by the
audience than the government's official declaration. And with glory and power,
some social responsibility is bound to follow.

Last but not the least, media and press is a noble profession. Free press is to
any democracy as the air is to life. It is media's responsibility to drive the society
on the path of progress rather than destruction and provide the society with the
guiding torch.
Now having focussed on the responsibility of media in promoting communal
harmony, let's focus on what actually is media's duty and what is expected from it
for the communal harmony.
Role of media in promoting communal harmony has two entirely different
but complementary functions, namely (1) Role of media during communal riots/
tense situation and (2) role of media during peace time to promote communal
harmony and bonding.
Let's discuss the first point i.e. role during riots and tense situation.
Firstly, media has the responsibility to produce only proven facts during the
riots. It should refrain from fanning and spreading the rumours, because in that
time not many people have the brain to reason out the information's veracity. They
simply go by the word of the media. Therefore, language used should not be
instigating, derogatory, inflammatory or insulting.
The media has to refrain from putting personal emotion of writer in the
article and be as unbiased as it is expected to be. Media has to be free from any
external pressure like political, bureaucratic, economic, power groups, peer groups
or other vested interests so as to be unbiased.
Nowadays due to competition and rivalry in the field of media, there is a
chance of drifting away from ethics towards TRP and popularity based journalism.
Media should put the societies interests before its own TRP or monetary interests,
and not forget humanity for TRP.
As it has been seen in many riots and communal clashes, the repetitive
broadcast of provoking or disturbing scenes in the electronic media has the result
of brain-washing of the youth and fills the mind of the youth with a sense of
vengeance. And its repercussions are felt sometimes immediately like aggravation

of riots or at some times after a long time like the serial bomb blast in Delhi,
Ahmedabad, Jaipur etc. for the revenge of Gujarat riots.
Media should not provoke people again and again by reiterating the same
painful story, which has already been forgotten or put in the back store of one's
mind. E.g. reminding people about Ayodhya, Babari Masjid demolition, Gujarat
riots, Bombay clashes etc. usually serve no useful purpose except the incitement of
the miscreants for revenge. A golden rule is not to tease any sleeping lion.
Media should not cover the incident in such a way as to undermine the
people's trust in government's administrative and police system. Criticism can
always wait till the acute condition has been brought under control. At the time of
tension, media should give the people a positive signal by spreading the message
that government is taking care of the problem effectively. At the time of tension,
only verified facts should be published. And the job of analysts and opinion article
writers are even more responsible. They should keep their personal emotions and
thoughts away from the objective analysis.
Media should also curtail the rumours which are on the wind during the
tense times by stating that no such event has ever happened. If rumours are
controlled, half the law and order situation problem is already solved.
One more problem that has come forth is "half truth". It happens sometimes
that the heading, scroll bar or photograph don't accrue with the facts published
below. Avoid provocative titles and photographs because they are the features
which make the most impact. They should depict the truth rather than being
sensational.
And the most important thing is the role of REGIONAL MEDIA. Generally,
major national newspapers follow journalistic norms. But some of the regional
newspapers are sometimes a mouthpiece of some political party or religion. Now at
the time of some communal events, the national newspapers or news channels
depend on the information collected by the regional journalists. So their analysis
may also be biased depending on the information received. And the local

vernacular newspapers have much more coverage in the affected area than the
national newspapers which are mainly in Hindi or English. Thus they should
behave much more responsibly in the hour of crisis.
The most important thing is not to glorify the terrorists or extremists who
created the problem of communalism or terrorism, however noble their cause may
seem to be, because no riot or war has yielded positive result in long run.
Sometimes the miscreants get too much media attention, which make them hero.
And sometimes it happens that the media invites religious leaders to deliver speech
on the happenings, and instead of cooling the fire down, they just deliver
provocative speeches. Such indirect assistance to the miscreants 'should also be
stopped.
The other important area is caste, religion or community references. Press
Council of India has given the following norms for the same to all the press media,
which is also applicable to other electronic media. In general, the caste
identification of a person or a particular class should be avoided, particularly when
in the context it conveys a sense or attributes a conduct or practice derogatory to
that caste. Media should not use the word 'Scheduled Caste' or 'Harijan' which has
been objected to by some. An accused or a victim shall not be described by his
caste or community when the same does not have anything to do with the offence
or the crime and plays no part either in the identification of any accused or
proceeding, if there be any. Newspaper should not publish any fictional literature
distorting and portraying the religious characters in an adverse light and offending
the religious susceptibilities of large sections of society who hold those characters
in high esteem, invested with attributes of the virtuous and lofty. Commercial
exploitation of the name of prophets, seers or deities is repugnant to journalistic
ethics and good taste. It should also not attempt to promote balkanization of the
country.
Now let's focus on the role of media during the peace time for promotion of
communal harmony.

One of the jobs of the journalists is also to bring forth to the public notice
the plight of the weaker sections of society. They are the watchdogs on behalf of
the society of its weaker sections. If this is followed in good faith the weaker
section can get along with the mainstream and they feel equally comfortable
thereby decreasing the sense of inequality and injustice which is the root cause of
all the communal tensions.
The media should build up national solidarity and instil this idea that this is
our country and all the countrymen are our brothers and sisters. Media should
bring to the notice of the people that they have been living together very
comfortably in the long history of India except the small periods of communal
unrests. The time spent in harmony far outweighs the time spent in communal
disharmony. The media should make a conscious effort to remind the people of the
great glory of the India and the harmony prevalent in India since time immemorial.
Media should facilitate inter religion communication and talks among the
religious leaders on the issues of social importance. They should bring forth the
best of the practices and cultural diversity of all the communities. Media should
also teach us to be tolerant of the cultures and values of other communities which
may not be agreeable to us.
Media should publish good books, movies and other material which
promotes the communal harmony. There are many movies and books on
communal riots, but merely a handful of movies and books on the theme of
communal harmony. This has been created because media is money driven. The
basic thing is "whatever incites your basic instincts, sales well" our mindset is such
that we like war, clashes, deaths etc. but are quite apathetic to peace building
measures. Therefore the media tries to play around people's raw wounds and never
let them heal.
Art is one of the thing which is above the communalism and pure. Media
should take the help of part in establishing the communal harmony. Music,
paintings, songs of national unity and communal harmony go a long way in

promoting communal harmony. The artists have the moral responsibility not to
incite the sentiments by depiction of the religious leaders, gods, goddesses or
religious symbols in an objectionable way. Art is meant for uniting and not for
dividing. Let the art be used for healing the malady rather than aggravating it.
Last but not the least, editors of the media have a very conscious and active
role to play in the promotion of communal harmony. They should make sure that
the content of the media is a healthy one and' congenial to the atmosphere of
communal harmony and not instigating any section of society and definitely not
affecting law and order situation. Furthermore they should give the space and
importance to the articles related to the promotion of communal harmony and
upliftment of the weaker sections of the country.
As the Sanskrit saying goes,
"na hi gyanen sadrisham pavitramiha vidyate"
Let our media be engaged in bringing forth the best of the knowledge and art
out of our cultural diversity and spread this knowledge across the world that India
will stand united and strong for the generations to come.

Media can play harmonizing role in the society
ADESH TITARMARE
Though a country, India is rightly termed a subcontinent. It is a

country of diversity and heterogeneity. Many languages and dialects,
a variety of customs and traditions, castes and religions and differences
emanating from communalism render the task of national integration
more hazardous. In recent years violence due to communal differences
has raised its ugly head in almost all parts of India.
As flowers of different colours and shapes enrich a garden, so does
the variety of faiths and ideologies make a colourful nation. No religion
supports violence. Those who resort to violence in the name of religion
are doing a disservice to their faith and humanity at large. No religion
sanctions the killing of innocent people and certainly not in the name of
religion. Communal harmony, therefore, is the basic building block of
our country. The importance of communal harmony is the 'sine qua non'
of our survival as a civilised society.
Communal harmony is of utmost importance in taking the nation
to newer heights of success and growth. A handful of people shouldn't
be let to vitiate the atmosphere in the name of caste, creed, colour,
religion, region, majority or minority.
The new Webster's Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English
language defines communalism as a theory or system of government in
which each commune is virtually an independent state, and the nation
merely a federation of such states.
Another definition is 'strong allegiance to one's own ethnic group
rather than to society as a whole'.

Today the second expression seems to be more appropriate.
Unfortunately, in the Indian context, communalism has acquired a
perverted connotation and means the evil practice of exploiting religion
or caste by the members of a community/caste or party to get an unfair
political advantage, undue material gain, patronage, or favourable
treatment as against the legitimate rights, interests, and aspirations of a
rival community.
This brand of communalism is vicious to nationalism, deleterious
to democracy, dangerous to the integrity of the country, inimical to peace
and progress, and repugnant to the basic human values propagated by
saints and sages of all faiths, down through the ages.
Founding Fathers of our Constitution believed that secularism is
the antithesis of and the anti-dote to communalism. Therefore, they
made secularism, in all its ramifications, one of the basic pillars of the
constitution. They enshrined it as one of the prime objectives in the
Preamble of the Constitution. They embodied in the Constitution the
fundamental guarantees of freedom of conscience, practice and
propagation of religion (Article 25) and also freedom at religious
instruction in certain educational and cultural institutions (Article 28).
Also provided for was the protection of the cultural and educational
rights of minorities (Article 28 and 30). An important and integral part of
these Articles is Article 19(1) that embodies the faith our constitution
framers had in the press of the county in promoting the above principles.
The Constitutional injunctions and guarantees to ensure the secular
character of our polity are based on values, which are the common
cultural heritage of India. These moral principles have been evolved
during the past several hundred years through a process of cultural
synthesis, by the holy men and saints of various religious faiths and
denominations. These ethics seek to integrate and regulate the life and

variegated culture of the followers of different faiths, in terms of
common socio-spiritual ideals.
Over the last century, India has been rocked by communal, caste,
linguistic or regional violence, of this; communal riots have assumed
dangerous proportions from the beginning of eighties. The innumerable
incidents of small or big proportions have sharpened the communal
intensity leading to an emotional upsurge in the country, which added to
the communal tension. The responsibility of the media in such
situations is undeniable.
As the adage goes, "Good news is no news, only bad is". Much
importance has been attached by the media to minor issues in the recent
years. These issues generally are all political stunts to gain popularity. If
public is intelligent enough and believe in promoting communal
harmony by following only nation-building steps, public should avoid
paying heed to such activities. Those who indulge in destructive
activities will themselves see reason if ignored by the majority of the
people of the country. The power of pen can indeed overshadow the
power of issues and materials that can create communal discord.
Unfortunately, the Press has not always covered these events
dispassionately and objectively. Without going too far back in the time,
if we analyse the situation since the 90's, some section of the media got
carried away by the turn of the tide. Elsewhere, the militants and
terrorists were openly glorified for serving the cause of their community.
A large number of newspapers and news channels in the country
and, in particular a large section of the print and electronic media in
Gujarat had, instead of alleviating the communal unrest, played an
ignoble role in inciting communal passions leading to large-scale rioting,
arson and pillage in the State.

A very important question is 'how do media influence communal
harmony'?
When people are exposed to a common language, culture,
problems, laws and issues, it gradually leads to social homogeneity.
Media has the capability to focus attention on social issues and current
events resulting in a common experience which itself contributes to a
feeling of closeness and integration.
If the media audience becomes suspicious that they are being
exposed to falsehood or motivated propaganda then the media tends to
lose credibility. On the contrary, if the media enjoys credibility and
trustworthiness, their audiences get influenced without being conscious
of it. The media should not take the role of a preacher as people
generally shun such an approach. The media should reflect the extant
social conditions. If a person has been seeing or experiencing people of
different communities living together, interacting in various social
situations, the acceptance of similar situations and characters becomes
easier in life.
Media is an instrument which can be used both ways. As media
can help in achieving harmony, it can also be used to spread hatred and
distrust between communities. It is a question of who uses what and
how it is used. The media will promote integration and harmony when
they act responsibly and work under reasonable control. The power of
media to ferment communal discord became self evident in the
controversy that cropped up in the Danish cartoons case.
The media should imaginatively reflect the variety in the national
life, so as to promote tolerance and goodwill among people. What
damages a nation most is the stereotyped attitude that communities hold
towards each other. These stereotypes result from ignorance and lack of
interaction reinforced by irresponsible and prejudiced reporting.

Perhaps, the worst offender is local media which doesn't exercise
sufficient restraint in reporting on communal disturbances. The power of
media is such that while it takes them years to create goodwill and amity
among people, they are capable of destroying it in no time. The media
do create new attitudes but over a longer period of time. However, they
are effective in reinforcing existing attitudes relatively faster.
Media's effectiveness is closely linked to people's access to it. With
the proliferation of electronic media and news channels, majority of the
population is able to access some from of news media. Even the
illiterate who couldn't read print media has now access to television and
radio. Infact, media is one of the powerful tools to promote communal
harmony. It is supposed to promote democracy, equality, tolerance, and
other positive social values through different documentary, case studies
etc. But market driven media culture has reduced the credibility of its
real work. Most mass media are now covering news items of violence,
anti- social act and broadening the divide among different religious
groups.
Media has the potential to play a role in moulding public opinion
on correct lines in regard to the need of friendly and harmonious
relations between various communities and religious groups and thus
promote national solidarity.
The media should strictly adhere to proper norms and standards in
reporting or commenting on matters which have a bearing on communal
relations. One such important norm is not to distort, or exaggerate, not
to employ intemperate, inciting and unrestrained language. The local
papers particularly should strictly adhere to this norm.
Any news report printed or published by the print media or relayed
by the electronic media in contravention of ethical norms in reporting or
commenting on matters pertaining to communal harmony is liable to

"invite penal action" under the provisions of Section 295-A of the Indian
Penal Code and allied provisions.
There are press laws to check sensational reporting that can
damage communal harmony but laws only aren't sufficient. Media
persons need to shed their own, personal biases also. There is not only
a need of an appropriate media policy but more importantly an
appropriate 'media philosophy'.
Over the years, the Press Council also has played a key role as a
watchdog over the media in the country. The riots of late 60's, the
violence of 80-81, and in early 90's the incidents at Ayodhya, Mumbai,
Gujarat saw reports on media's 'role and requirements' based on which
the Council has advised the press to keep some basic principles in mind
while covering communal disputes/ clashes.
Journalists and columnists owe a very special responsibility to their
country in promoting communal peace and amity. Their writings are not
a mere reflection of their own feelings but help to large extent in
moulding the feelings and sentiments of the society at large. It is,
therefore, of utmost importance that they use their pen with
circumspection and restrain.
News, views or comments relating to communal or religious
disputes / clashes needs to be published after proper verification of facts
and presented with due caution and restraint in a manner which is
conducive to the creation of an atmosphere congenial to communal
harmony, amity and peace. Sensational, provocative and alarming
headlines should be avoided. Acts of communal violence or vandalism
should be reported in a manner as may not undermine the people's
confidence in the law and order machinery of the State. Giving
community-wise figures of the victims of communal riot, or writing
about the incident in a style which is likely to inflame passions, aggravate

the tension, or accentuate the strained relations between the
communities/religious groups concerned, or which has a potential to
exacerbate the trouble, should be avoided.
The media, as a chronicle of tomorrow's history, owes an undeniable
duty to the future to record events as simple untailored facts. The
analysis of the events and opinion thereon are a different genre
altogether. The treatment of the two also thus has necessarily to be
different. In times of crisis, facts unadorned and simply put, with due
care and restraint, cannot be reasonably objected to in a democracy.
However, a heavy responsibility devolves on the author of opinion
articles. The author has to ensure that not only are his or her analysis
free from any personal preference, prejudices or notions, but also they
are based on verified, accurate and established facts and do not tend to
foment disharmony or enmity between castes; communities and races.
The media should refrain from publishing / telecasting pictures of
mangled corpses or any other photographic coverage which may create
terror, or revulsion or ignite communal passion among people.
The role of media in such situations is to be peacemakers. And not
abettors, to be trouble-shooters and not troublemakers. Newspaper should
not publish any fictional literature distorting and portraying the religious
characters in an adverse light and offending the religious susceptibilities of
large sections of society who hold those characters in high esteem.
Newspaper should also not publish advertisements, which have a
tendency to malign or hurt the religious sentiments of any community or
section of society.
The media should also be cautious not to falsely give communal
colour to incidents which might occur in which members of different
communities happen to be involved.

The press is now everywhere! ... and is becoming more and more
powerful in creating awareness and educating people, on a wide variety
of issues, including on communal harmony. There is a greater socio-
political awareness about people's rights, irrespective of communal
identities, and this is a sign of a society which has matured.
Further, because of media reports showing pictures of, and
reporting on violent mobs indulging in arson and creating chaos, people
have become sympathetic towards the innocent people under attack, no
matter which community they belong to.
One very good example of media coverage of issues is the
coverage of the bomb explosions in Varanasi. The media of our country
is slowly maturing into an institution where its initiatives and
instruments can stop the hatred, which, in itself, constitutes a threat to
national peace and security.
Media can play an effective role not only before and during a
communal riot but also after it by reporting on the initiatives of the
government to rehabilitate the victims and stop further clashes.
The media has also exposed the sycophancy of the political parties
who fail to draw from the repositories of harm. Through the various
forms of media, including print, television, and especially film and
popular culture, people have also learnt about diverse cultures, religions,
cuisines and have learnt to celebrate each other's joys and desire to live
together with respect, equality, justice and peace.
Films also play an important role in making and breaking the
communal fabric.
Community Radio which is an emerging form of Media with the
mechanism of in-built participation of community people and
representation of the cores, corners, needs and aspirations of local
community can essentially contribute a lot by ensuring communal

harmony, by offering peace and social development, especially in a
developing country like India.
The power of media depends on political will and national mood.
Finally, it may be said that ordinarily media plays harmonizing role in
the society; it can't be effective in absence of national consensus.

Media is the key for building Communal Harmony
SHEMUSHI BAJPAI
According to Tolstoy the subject of history is the life of peoples and of

humanity. So one simple question arises that who provides the material for
history? Society, nation and so many other institutions and individuals are
backbone for history. But who preserves history and sometimes creates history?
And this time media emerges as the key player.
All social change is accompanied by a period of tension and maladjustment.
The various media can regulate the temperature of this tension by providing
explanation, holding out rewards, speeding up development. In early society three
information roles were clearly to be seen. The watchman role to scan the policy
and report back. The policy role to decide policy and to lead. The teacher role to
bring the new members of society. Essentially, the role of media in the modern
world remains the same. The only difference is that the role requires different
clothing. Now we have television, internet, newspapers, magazines, broadcasting
stations etc.
Knowledge is power. This being beyond dispute, it may be said as well that
the mass dissemination of information has shown itself to be amongst the most
powerful forces of our time. Depending on the veracity of the information
disseminated, the intentions of the authors, and the climate in which the
information is received, it may be a force for progress and the common good, or
catalyst for destruction, intolerance, also even genocide. Freedom of opinion and
expression has become universally recognized as fundamental human right and
implicitly the mass media has found international protection for its global voice.
But rights have corresponding duties. Articles 19 and 20 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) makes clear that free expression
was not a license to use the power of the media to destroy the rights or
reputations of others. Some restrictions must be permitted as well for the

protection of national security, public order, health and morals. Free expression
does not protect propaganda for war, or advocacy of national, racial or religious
hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.
The world has come to recognize that free, flourishing, independent and
responsible media plays an essential role in the functioning of a democratic
society. As a tool for the promotion and protection of human rights, a free media
can greatly facilitate the building of a culture of human rights by encouraging
tolerance between various national, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups; by
exposing rights violations wherever they occur. Unfortunately, the enormous
power of the media has not always been used to the benefit of democracy and
humanity. In former Yugoslavia; radio, television and print media were used to
create a climate of hate, suspicion and intolerance upon which a campaign of
ethnic cleansing was launched. Too many times media has taken part in the
violation of human rights.
Media is a powerful medicine, if the medicine is used properly it can heal
many ills, if the medicine is misused it can becomes poison. The role of media in
promoting communal harmony means information dissemination which combats
propaganda for riots, intolerance, or racism.
Media for communal harmony means publications and broadcasts which
serve not the interest of power but rather empowerment for marginalized
people.
Media for communal harmony means to promote understanding, tolerance
and friendship among the individuals and groups and to contribute to
eradication of racism, racial discrimination and racial prejudice, in particular
by refraining from presenting a stereotyped, partial, unilateral or tendentious
picture of individuals and of various human groups.
There is no country where everyone speaks the same language, belongs to
the same race and shares the same culture, beliefs and traditions. In the modern
world, many countries embrace a mosaic of people, and coexistence is not always

peaceful.
A nation of more than a billion people having different ethnic origins and
divided into a number of castes and communities. There are at least eight major
religions, 22 scheduled languages in India.
In Indian society, since ages, communal harmony has been the norm and
disharmony has been an exception. From the very early times, different religions
and communities have come to India and all have been, by and large, absorbed is a
negative word which means minority community are in a way forced to adopt
majority view.
The word communalism finds its roots in the word commune which means
living together in a way where everyone aims at the mutual prosperity of the
community to which he/she belongs. The members of the commune can be
perceived as people who share a common set of beliefs, or common
ideology.
In India communalism is understood in a negative way, and has come to
mean a kind of pride in one's community on the grounds of religion caste or
language, which is accompanied by hatred of others religion and culture. The slide
begins when one faith begins to encroach upon a separate conviction. The first
symptom of fundamentalism is aggression. When this aggression is channelled
through an organized section of community, it becomes communalism.
The goal of fundamentalists, of any stripe, is to disunite and destroy our
communal harmony. One of the major causes of communal hatred and violence is
the exploitation of the unclear but emotionally powerful sense of allegiance to a
community by individuals and organizations for their own personal selfish ends.
Exploiting caste, religious and regional sentiments among the people leads to
clashes and divisions in society.
But not a single religion supports violence. Those who resort to violence in
the name of religion are doing a disservice to their faith and humanity at large.

No religion sanctions the killing of innocent people and certainly not in the
name of religion. All religions of the world were great as all of them had a
message of love and humanism.
In matters of race and color, attitudes of chauvinism and prejudice or on the
other hand attitude of equality to develop at an early age.
Parents and other members of family and also peer-groups in the school and
the neighbourhood are the major influences.
But these attitudes can change generally in response to changing social
conditions the media can play a significant role in promoting and accelerating
positive changes in attitude.
Media, both print and electronic, to exercise restraint and avoid publishing
or broadcasting screaming headlines and managing of mass media so that violence
is not portrayed as something heroic. And there is a need for pre-censorship of
news, more particularly at the time of any communal disturbance or violence
relating to communal matters before it is published.
In this regard according to Tolstoy 'The history of culture offers us as the
impelling of the life of the people, the circumstances of the lives or the ideas
of a writer or a reformer. We learn that Luther had a hasty temper and uttered
certain speeches; we learn that Rousseau was distrustful and wrote certain books;
but we do not learn what made the nations cut each other to pieces after the
Reformation, or why men guillotined each other during the French Revolution. 'If
we want to save our composite culture and communal harmony we have to learn
from our past. And for this purpose media should be more responsible and
responsive. .
The power of media to promote public awareness and understanding of the
culture, the social habits and traditions, the attitudes and hopes and also
grievances of each diverse group in the population is well recognized.

But there are so many bad films and their massages are also disastrous.
Communal riot itself generates headline currency in media and as a result of
continuous media coverage level of violence increases.
If the media realizes in a real way its responsibility in building up communal
harmony; whether it is the national media or the international media, it has to be
built up.

lR;e~ czw;kr] fiz;e czw;krA u czw;kr] lR;e~ vfiz;e~AA
Hkjr ;kno
orZeku yksdrkaf=d fo’o esa ehfM;k dk {ks= vR;f/kd foLrkfjr gks pqdk
gS] vc ehfM;k dsoy [kcjksa dks yksxksa rd igq¡pkus dk ek/;e u gksdj yksdra=
dk izgjh cu x;k gSA yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dh LFkkiuk esa ehfM;k egRoiw.kZ Hkwfedk
fuHkk jgk gS] blh dkj.k ehfM;k dks yksdra= dk ßpkSFkk LraHkß dgk tkrk gSA
Hkkjr tSls xaxk&;equh laLd`fr okys ns’k esa tgk¡ fofo/krk dk ckgqY; gS] bl
ßfofo/krk esa ,drkß cuk, j[kus es ehfM;k dh vR;f/kd egRoiw.kZ Hkwfedk gSA
Hkkjr esa vusd /keZ] tkfr o laLdkjksa dks ekuus okys yksx fuokl djrs gSa]
ehfM;k muds chp lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko cuk, j[kus esa okWpMkWx dh Hkwfedk
fuHkkrk gSA
orZeku HkkSfrdoknh fo’o esa ehfM;k Hkh vfr O;kolkf;drk ds izHkko ls cp
ugha ldk gSA blh dkj.k ls lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko o vU; yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dh
LFkkiuk esa ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk udkjkRed Lo:Ik Hkh xzg.k dj jgh gSA
O;kolkf;drk dh nkSM+ esa ehfM;k laLFkku pkgs og bysDVªkWfud ehfM;k ls gksa ;k
fizaV ehfM;k ls O;kolkf;drk o uSfrdrk ds chp larqyu LFkkfir ugha dj ik
jgs gSaA orZeku esa lHkh izeq[k lekpkj pSuyksa ij fgald ?kVukvksa dks
c<+k&p<+kdj fn[kk;k tkrk gS tksa ßvkx esa ?kh Mkyusß dk dke djrk gSA dqN
ekeyksa esa lekpkj pSuyksa us ldkjkRed o vuqdj.kh; mnkgj.k Hkh LFkkfir fd,
gSaA ,d ,slk gh mnkgj.k gS okjk.klh ds n’es’oj ?kkV ij ce foLQksV dh
?kVukA bl ?kVuk ds le; ehfM;k us lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ cuk, j[kus esa cM+h
vPNh Hkwfedk vnk dh tcfd ml le; lEiw.kZ fo’o esa Msful dkVwZu fookn Hkh

py jgk FkkA bl izdkj ehfM;k }kjk ldkjkRed o udkjkRed nksuksa izdkj dh
Hkwfedk lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko ds {ks= esa ifjyf{kr gksrh gSA
Hkkjrh; lafo/kku fuekZrkvksa us Hkkjr dh fefJr laLd`fr dks ns[krs gq,
lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko cuk, j[kus ds fy, lafo/kku esa igys ls gh dbZ izko/kku
fd, gq, gSaA ftuesa ;Fkk le; la’kks/ku Hkh fd;k x;kA tSls vuq0 19¼1½ esa lHkh
ukxfjdksa dks vfHkO;fDr dh Lora=rk nh xbZ gS] vkSj blh vuqPNsn ds rgr
ehfM;k 'kfDr xzg.k djrk gSA ogha fofHkUu /keksZa o lEiznk;ksa dks ns[krs gq, vuq0
28 ¼/kkfeZd ,oa lkaLd`frd laLFkkvksa dh LFkkiuk½ vuq0 25 ¼/keZ dh Lora=rk½]
vuq0 29] 30 ¼vYila[;dksa ds fgrksa dk laj{k.k½ vkfn esa fofHkUu izko/kku fd,
x, gSaA bu lHkh izko/kkuksa esa lkekatL; LFkkfir djus esa ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk
vR;f/kd egRoiw.kZ gks tkrh gSA O;kolkf;drk dh va/kh nkSM+ esa ehfM;k laLFkku
vR;f/kd ykHk dekus dh Hkkouk dh vksj vkdf"kZr gq, gSa] bl dkj.k ;s vius
uSfrd nkf;Roksa ls nwj gksrs tk jgs gSaA xks/kjk dkaM gks ;k fQj ckcjh efLt+n
dkaM bu lHkh ekeyksa esa ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk dks ljkguh; ugha dgk tk ldrk
gSA ,slh uktqd ifjfLFkfr;ksa esa ehfM;k }kjk fgalk vkSj fgald fp=ksa dks c<+k
p<+kdj fn[kkuk] fgalk dks vkSj c<+kus o lacaf/kr {ks= ds lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ dks
fcxkM+us dk dke djrk gSA lEiznk; ;k /keZ ds vk/kkj ij e`r yksxksa dh la[;k
dks crk;k tkrk gS ftlls lacaf/kr /keZ ;k lEiznk; ds yksx vius vki dks
vlqjf{kr eglwl djus yxrs gSa] mudk fo’okl jkT; vkSj dkuwu O;oLFkk ls
mBus yxrk gS os fgalk dk lgkjk ysus yxrs gSaA Hkkjr ds dbZ jktuSfrd ny o
laxBu] /keZ o tkfr vk/kkfjr jktuhfr djrs gSa] dbZ ckj ehfM;k laLFkku budh
jktuhfr o vksNs LokFkksZa esa budh enn djrs utj vkrs gSaA Lora=rk ds ckn
Hkkjr esa O;kid Lrj ij lEiznk;] tkfr] Hkk"kk ;k {ks= vk/kkfjr fgalk vLlh ds

n’kd ls 'kq: gqbZ vkSj bl fgalk dks de djus esa ehfM;k lq;ks/ku ds LFkku ij
nq;ksZ/ku dh gh Hkwfedk vf/kd fuHkkrk utj vk;kA
ehfM;k dk drZO; dsoy ;g ugha gS fd og yksxksa rd lgh [kcj igq¡pk,
cfYd tSlk fd ikyh lkfgR; esa dgk x;k gS fd %&
ßlR;e~ czw;kr] fiz;e czw;kr] u czw;kr lR;e~ vfiz;e~ß
mijksDr 'kCnksa dh Hkkouk dk ikyu ehfM;k ds fy, vfr vko’;d gSA
vFkkZr~ naxksa ;k fgald ?kVukvksa dk fp=.k ehfM;k }kjk bl izdkj fd;k tkuk
pkfg, fd yksxksa dks ;g u yxs fd dkuwu O;oLFkk dk iru gks x;k gS vkSj naxksa
ds fu;a=.k esa jkT; dh iz’kklfud O;oLFkk v{ke gks x;h gSA fdlh lEiznk; ;k
/keZ ds yksxksa dh Hkkoukvksa ls f[kyokM+ Hkh ugha fn[kk;k tkuk pkfg,A
ehfM;k yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dh LFkkiuk o /kkfeZd ln~Hkko cuk, j[kus esa
dbZ izdkj ls ;ksxnku ns ldrh gSA fgalk ;k naxksa ds le; jkgriw.kZ dk;ksZa esa
iz’kklu dh enn dj ldrk gSA tSls fgalk ;k naxksa ds le; jkgr lkexzh ds
forj.k] yksxksa ds foLFkkiu o yksxksa dks ,d nwljs ls feykus esa] yksxksa dk fo’okl
dkuwu O;oLFkk ij cuk, j[kus esaA Hkkjr ljdkj ehfM;k ij fu;a=.k ds fy, ,d
dkuwu cukus ds fy, Hkh iz;kljr gS] bl dkuwu dks flQZ vuq0 19¼1½ ¼vfHkO;fDr
dh Lora=rk½ dk fojks/kh dgdj [kkfjt ugha fd;k tk ldrkA tc orZeku
yksdrkaf=d fo’o esa ftEesnkjh] ikjnf’kZrk o tckcnsgh dks c<+kok fn;k tk jgk gS
rc ehfM;k ij Hkh vko’;d ikcfUn;k¡ t:jh gSA Hkkjr esa O;oLFkkfidk]
dk;Zikfydk o U;k;ikfydk dks ßlwpuk ds vf/kdkjß rgr tokcnsg o ikjn’khZ
cuk;k tk jgk gS rks yksdra= ds pkSFks LraHk ¼ehfM;k½ dks bu ewY;ksa ls vNwrk
ugha j[kk tk ldrkA bl laca/k esa dqN funsZ’kksa dh ppkZ djuk lehphu jgsxkA
tSls& lEikndksa vkSj i=dkjkas dk isu mudh O;fDrxr vkdka{kkvksa dh txg
leLr lekt dh vfHkO;fDr gksuk pkfg,] lkEiznkf;d fgalk laca/kh [kcjsa iz’kklu

}kjk iq"V gksus ds ckn gh Nkih tk,a ;k izlkfjr dh tk,a] [kcjksa esa /;ku j[kk
tk, fd og yksxksa dk fo’okl iz’kklu o dkuwu O;oLFkk ls mBus u nsa] fgald
fp=ksa dks ckj&ckj u fn[kk;k tk,] lEiznk; ;k /keZ ds vk/kkj ij ?kVukvksa dks
yksxksa ls u tksM+k tk,A
mijksDr lq>ko ;g bafxr djrs gSa fd D;k u fd;k tk,] blh izdkj dqN
lq>ko ,sls Hkh gks ldrs gSa ftuesa ^D;k fd;k tk,* dk funsZ’k gks tSls& bl
izdkj dh ?kVukvksa ds le; nks /keksZa ;k lEiznk; ds yksxksa ds e/; lkeatL; o
lkSgknZ ds mnkgj.kksa dks ckj&ckj fn[kk;k tk,A /kkfeZd izeq[kksa o fo}kuksa ds e/;
LoLFk okrkoj.k esa ifjppkZ djk;h tk, o mldk fp=.k o izlkj.k fd;k tk,]
ehfM;k }kjk Hkkjr dh fefJr laLd`fr o ^vusdrk esa ,drk* :ih bfrgkl ds
izlaxksa dk bl le; izlkj.k o fp=.k fd;k tk,] iz’kklu ds lg;ksx ls 'kkafr
dh iqucZgkyh ds iz;kl fd, tk,a ,oa iz’kklu ds fu.kZ;ksa o dkuwuksa dks ykxw
djus esa iw.kZ lg;ksx fn;k tk,A
Hkkjr ljdkj }kjk îzlkj.k fcy* dks ykxw djus ds iz;kl fd, tk jgs gSa]
bl iz;kl esa Hkkjr ds lHkh ukxfjdksa o jktuSfrd nyksa vkSj Lo;a
ehfM;k&laLFkkuksa dks ljdkj dk lg;ksx djuk pkfg,A ehfM;k laLFkkuksa ds
dsUnzh; laxBuksa dks viuh vksj ls Hkh dqN ßdksM vkWQ dUMDVß (code of
conduct) cukuk pkfg, o muds ifjikyu dks dM+kbZ ls lqfuf’pr djuk
pkfg,A bysDVªkWfud o fizaV ehfM;k ds fcuk orZeku fo’o dh ifjdYiuk gh ugha
dh tk ldrh gS] D;ksafd ehfM;k yksdra= dk izgjh gS] ,sls esa ehfM;k {ks= dk Hkh
nkf;Ro gS fd og okpMkWx o fOgfly Cyksvj (whistle blower) dh viuh
Hkwfedk dks bZekunkjh ls fuHkk,A ehfM;k laLFkku iw.kZr;k O;kolkf;d fgrksa ls
ifjpkfyr ugha gks ldrs D;ksafd ehfM;k yksxksa dh vfHkO;fDr dk ek/;e gSA
ehfM;k laLFkkuksa dks O;kolkf;drk o uSfrdrk ds e/; mfpr o vfuok;Z larqyu

LFkkfir djuk gksxkA ge ;g ugha dg ldrs fd ges’kk ehfM;k us lkEiznkf;d
ln~Hkko LFkkfir djus esa udkjkRed Hkwfedk gh fuHkkbZ gS] fujk’kk ds leqnz esa
NksVs&NksVs dbZ vk’kkvksa ds Vkiw Hkh utj vkrs gSaA vko’;drk gS bu ldkjkRed
mnkgj.kksa dk bZekunkjh ls vuqlj.k fd;k tk,A ehfM;k laFkkuksa dks vius
dÙkZR;ksa o nkf;Roksa dk Lej.k djkuk o muds vuqikyu dks lqfuf’pr djuk ge
lHkh dk ijedÙkZO; gSA
Tkc ehfM;k laLFkku vius dÙkZO;ksa dk lgh vuqikyu 'kq: dj nsaxs rks u
dsoy lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko oju~ lekos’kh fodkl] fuj{kjrk fuokj.k] xjhch
mUewyu vkfn {ks=ksa esa Hkh xfr vk,xh vkSj yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dh LFkkiuk dks
c<+kok feysxkA Hkkjr dh xaxk&;equh laLd`fr ;g ek¡x djrh gS fd ;fn Hkkjr
dks ;Fkk’kh?kz fodflr ns’k cuuk gS rks lezkV v’kksd vkSj vdcj ds le; ls
pys vk jgs /kkfeZd HkkbZpkjs o lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ dks cuk, j[kk tk, o iq"V
fd;k tk,A orZeku fo’o esa tc vkradokn ,d oSf’od ifj?kVuk cu dj mHkj
jgk gS rc lefUor laLd`fr dks c<+kok nsuk o mldk vuqikyu vkSj vko’;d gks
tkrk gSA Hkkjr izkphu le; ls gh uSfrdrk ds {ks= esa ^fo’o xq:* dh Hkwfedk
fuHkkrk vk jgk gS] bl Hkwfedk dks cuk, j[kus o blds {ks= esa o`f) djus ds
fy, vko’;d gS fd ehfM;k {ks= lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko dks c<+kok nsus esa vius
nkf;Ro dk fu"BkiwoZd vuqikyu djsA orZeku Xykscykbt fo’o esa oSf’od eap ls
usr`Ro djus ¼lqj{kk ifj"kn~ dh LFkk;h lnL;rk½ ds fy, vko’;d gS fd Hkkjr esa
xks/kjk dk.M o ckcjh efLt+n /oal tSlh ?kVukvksa dh iqujko`fÙk u gksA vkSj bl
{ks= esa ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk lcls egRoiw.kZ gSA ljdkj o ehfM;k laLFkku bl vksj
tkx:d gks jgs gSa] vko’;drk gS bu iz;klksa dh xfr dks cy iznku djus dhA
vkSj bl iz;klksa ds QyLo:Ik ge Hkfo";ok.kh dj ldrs gSa fd vkus okys le;

esa Hkkjr ^lkEiznkf;d lejlrk* dk vuqdj.kh; mnkgj.k cusxk o /kkfeZd vkSj
lkEiznkf;d dÍjrk vrhr dh cqjh ;knsa cu dj jg tk,xhA

ehfM;k dks O;kolkf;drk o uSfrdrk ds e/; vfuok;Z larqyu dk dk;Z djuk
pkfg,
yfyr 'kkD;koj
leLr ekuoh; lH;rk ds bfrgkl esa ekuoh; ewY;ksa dks LFkkfir djus dk
la?k"kZ jgk gSA nkuo ls ekuo cuus dh izfØ;k esa laidZ lw=ksa us cM+h egRoiw.kZ
Hkwfedk fuHkkbZ gS vkSj ;gh laidZ ek/;e orZeku esa ehfM;k ds :Ik esa fn[kkbZ ns
jgk gSA fizaV ehfM;k ls bysDVªkWfud ehfM;k dk izHkko ekuo thou ds izR;sd vax
esa n`f"Vxkspj gks jgk gS pkgs og vkfFkZd] lkekftd] lkaLd`frd rFkk jktuSfrd
gh D;ksa u gks] ehfM;k dk izHkko gj {ks= esa fn[kkbZ ns jgk gS ;gh dkj.k gS fd
ehfM;k dks yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dks LFkkfir djus okyk lcy ;a= ekuk tkrk gSA
ehfM;k us yksdra= dks lqn`<+rk nsus esa egRoiw.kZ Hkwfedk fuHkkbZ gS blhfy, bls
yksdra= dk pkSFkk LraHk dgk tkrk gS fdarq HkkSfrdrkoknh ekufldrk ls ;qDr
orZeku esa ;g LraHk dgha u dgha fgyrk t:j fn[k jgk gSA vr% orZeku esa
Hkkjrh; lefUor laLd`fr dks cuk;s j[kus rFkk izxfr’khy cuk, j[kus ds fy,
ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk D;k gks] ;g Toyar iz’u lcds lkeus flj mBk;s [kM+k gSA
Hkkjrh; laLd`fr vius Lo:Ik esa lkekfld laLd`fr dks /kkj.k djrh gSA
,sfrgkfld dkyØe dh n`f"V esa Hkkjr esa 'kd~] gw.k] dq"kk.k] bLyke rFkk vaxztksa
dk vkØe.k vkSj vkxeu cuk jgk fdUrq lHkh viuh lkaLd`frd fojklr ds lkFk
;gk¡ dh laLd`fr esa jp cl x;s vkSj Hkkjrh; laLd`fr bl chp vius dks cpkrh
gqbZ izxfr’khy iFk ij cuh jghA orZeku esa ;fn ehfM;k dh udkjkRed Hkwfedk
dks ns[kk tk, rks O;kolkf;d ehfM;k ds }kjk fons’kh rFkk ik’pkR; laLd`fr dk
izpkj izlkj fd;k tk jgk gS] ftls dqN cqf)thfo;ksa us lkaLd`frd vkØe.k dh
laKk nh gSA /;ku ls ns[kk tk, rks vkØe.k og gksrk gS ftlesa rhozrk rFkk
vpkudrk dk feJ.k gks] ftlls laHkyus dk ekSdk u feys vkSj orZeku esa

bysDVªkWfud ehfM;k us dkWLeksikWfyVu flVh ls ysdj Hkkjr ds lqnwjorhZ xkao rd
,d lkFk izlkj.k dj laHkyus vkSj ik’pkR; laLd`fr dks ipkus dk le; ugha
fn;k gSA ftlds dkj.k izR;sd {ks=] oxZ] lekt] tkfr] fyax ij bldk vlj
vyx&vyx :Ik esa iM+k gSA ;gh dkj.k gS fd dgha&dgha blls lkEiznkf;d
ln~Hkko dks Hkh gkfu igq¡ph gSA
orZeku miHkksDrkoknh rFkk HkkSfrdoknh nkSj esa ehfM;k dk eq[; mÌs’; ykHk
dekuk jgk gSA bl ykHk ds {ks= esa egRoiw.kZ Hkwfedk fons’kh pSuyksa dh jgh gS
rFkk O;kolkf;d eukso`fÙk ds pyrs pkgs Hkkjrh; laLd`fr esa ewY;ksa dk xq.kxku
djds /kuktZu gks ;k ik’pkR; laLd`fr dks izlkfjr djds ewy mÌs’; vkfFkZd
ykHk dh izkfIr gh jgk gSA blh dkj.k ls lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko o vU;
yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dh LFkkiuk esa ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk udkjkRed Lo:Ik Hkh xzg.k
dj jgh gSA O;kolkf;drk dh nkSM+ esa ehfM;k laLFkku pkgs og bysDVªkWfud
ehfM;k gks ;k fizaV ehfM;k] O;kolkf;drk o uSfrdrk ds chp larqyu LFkkfir
ugha dj ik jgs gSaA Vh0vkj0ih0 c<+kus ds fy, ehfM;k ds leLr pSuy cszfdax
U;wt dh vo/kkj.kk ls xzflr gks jgs gSa ftlesa NksVh lh fgald ?kVuk dks
c<+k&p<+kdj is’k fd;k tk jgk gSA Hkk"kk vkSj 'kCnksa dh ,slh pkluh esa [kcj dks
is’k fd;k tkrk gS tks lk/kkj.k ekuo ds efLr"d ij udkjkRed Hkko iSnk djrh
gS vkSj ;gh udkjkRed Hkko lekt esa lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko esa vkM+s vkrk gSA
xks/kjk dkaM esa ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk dkQh udkjkRed :Ik esa lcds lkeus gSA
xks/kjk esa gq, lkEiznkf;d naxksa dh tSlh rLohj ehfM;k us lcds lkeus j[kh
mlls le;≤ ij ,d fo’ks"k lEiznk; dks ekuus okyksa dh Hkkouk,a vkgr gqbZ
vkSj ftlds ifj.kkeLo:Ik izfrjks/k dh vfXu Ba<h gksus ds ctk, eq[kj vkSj fgald
:Ik esa izTofyr gksrh jghA bysDVªkWfud ehfM;k dh lcls cM+h izHkko’khyrk ;g
gS fd ;g u dsoy ?kVuk dks lqukrk gS cfYd mldk vka[kksa ns[kk gky lh/ks

n’kZdksa ds lkeus izlkfjr Hkh djrk gS ftlls ekuo dh JO;] n`’; vkSj vuqHko
bfUnz;ksa ij ,d lkFk vlj iM+rk gSA ;gh dkj.k gS fd xks/kjk dkaM ds le;
lkEiznkf;d naxs :d&:d dj xkaoksa rd igq¡prs x,A
xks/kjk naxksa esa ehfM;k vius uSfrd nkf;Roksa ls nwj gh fn[kkbZ fn;kA ,d
vU; Toyar leL;k esa Hkh ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk dks lgh ugha Bgjk;k tk ldrkA
ckcjh efLtn fookn esa dkjlsodksa ds }kjk efLtn dks fxjkrs gq, fn[kk;k x;k
ftlus leL;k dks vkSj xaHkhj cuk fn;k tks fd orZeku esa Hkh gy gksrh gqbZ
fn[kkbZ ugha ns jgh gSA ,slh laosnu’khy ifjfLFkfr;ksa esa ehfM;k vius uSfrd
nkf;Roksa ls nwj gh fn[kkbZ fn;kA ,d vU; Toyar leL;k esa Hkh ehfM;k dh
Hkwfedk dks lgh ugha Bgjk;k tk ldrkA ehfM;k }kjk vius uSfrd nkf;Roksa dk
ikyu u djrs gq, fgalk vkSj fgald fp=ksa dks c<+k&p<+kdj fn[kk;k x;k ftlls
lacaf/kr {ks= ds lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ dks dkQh >Vdk yxkA [kcjksa esa fo’ks"k /keZ
;k lEiznk; ls lacaf/kr yksxksa ij gq, fgald geyksa esa ejus okyksa dh la[;k dks
fn[kk;k tkrk gS blls Hkh vU; ;k ihfM+r lEiznk; fo’ks"k dh Hkkoukvksa dks ihM+k
igq¡prh gS rFkk dgha u dgha os lekt dh eq[;/kkjk ls vius dks dVk gqvk
eglwl djrs gSaA ihfM+r ;k 'kksf"kr lEiznk; okyksa dk fo’okl Hkkjrh; dkuwu
rFkk jkT; O;oLFkk ls mBus yxrk gS rFkk os vius dks Hkkjrh; dkuwu O;oLFkk esa
Bxs rFkk vlqjf{kr eglwl djus yxrs gSa vkSj vkxs ;gh izfØ;k lkEiznkf;d
lejlrk dks cuk;s j[kus dh txg mls u"V djrh gSA
Hkkjrh; jktuhfr esa vkt {ks=h; jktuSfrdrk dk pyu mHkj dj lkeus
vk;k gS ;g {ks=h; jktuhfr] /keZ] tkfr rFkk Hkk"kk fo’ks"k gksrh gS] dbZ ckj
ehfM;k vkfFkZd ykHk ds pyrs bu jktuhfrKksa rFkk muds LokFkksZa dh iwfrZ esa enn
djrh gSA Lora=rk ds ckn ls jktuhfr esa /keZ rFkk tkfr vk/kkfjr oksV cSad dh
egRoiw.kZ Hkwfedk jgh gS vkSj bl Hkwfedk dks c<+kus esa ehfM;k us vkx esa ?kh dk

gh dke fd;k gSA ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk ns’k esa fofHkUu Tkkfr] /keZ] oxZ] Hkk"kk ds
chp lejl fLFkfr iSnk djuk gS fdUrq orZeku esa futh ykHkksa dks dekus ds fy,
ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk dgha u dgha dB?kjs esa [kM+h gqbZ gSA ehfM;k dk drZO; ;gh
ugha gS fd lgh [kcj dk fp=.k n’kZdksa rFkk ikBdksa rd igq¡ps cfYd lgh n`’;ksa
;k ?kVukvksa ds izlkj.k ls gksus okys ekuoh; ewY;ksa ds uqdlku dh uSfrd
ftEesnkjh dks Hkh fuHkkuk gS vr% dbZ laosnu’khy eqÌksa esa uSfrd nkf;Ro egRoiw.kZ
gks tkrk gS ftlls yksxksa esa ?kVuk ls gksus okys izHkko dk foijhr vlj u iM+sA
naxksa ;k fgald ?kVukvksa dk fp=.k ehfM;k }kjk bl izdkj fd;k tkuk pkfg,
fd yksxksa dks ;g u yxs fd dkuwu O;oLFkk dk iru gks x;k gS ;k dkuwu fdlh
,d i{k ds lkFk [kM+k gSA ehfM;k }kjk ekuoh; ewY;ksa dks cuk, j[krs gq, fdlh
fo’ks"k lEiznk; ds izfr lefiZr ugha gksuk pkfg,A
Lkexz udkjkREkd Hkwfedk ds lkFk&lkFk ehfM;k dh ldkjkRed Hkwfedk dks
fpfUgr ugha fd;k tkuk ,drjQk fo’ys"k.k gksxk] vr% vko’;d gS fd
lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko dks cuk, j[kus rFkk mls izxfr’khy iFk ij vxzlj djus
gsrq ehfM;k }kjk fd, x, dk;ksZa dks bl lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko dks lcyrk iznku
djus ds fy, D;k mik; viukus pkfg,] mu ij Hkh fparu rFkk izdk’k Mkyuk
vfr vko’;d gSA
le;≤ ij ehfM;k us yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dks cuk, j[kus rFkk /kkfeZd
ln~Hkko cuk, j[kus esa dbZ izdkj ls ;ksxnku fn;k gSA fgalk ;k naxksa ds le;
jkgriw.kZ dk;ksZa esa iz’kklu dh enn dh gSA xks/kjk naxksa rFkk xqtjkr Hkwdai ds
le; leLr ns’k esa vkfFkZd jkgr lkexzh ihfM+rksa rd igq¡pkus esa ljkguh;
Hkwfedk vnk dh gSA ehfM;k dk nkf;Ro gS fd vuqPNsn 19 ¼1½ vfHkO;fDr dh
Lora=rk ds rgr uSfrd dÙkZO;ksa dk ikyu djs rkfd vfHkO;fDr dh Lora=rk dk
mi;ksx vius eupkgs <ax ls lhfer ykHkksa vkSj lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko dks fcxkM+us

dk dk;Z uk djsA Hkkjr ljdkj ehfM;k dh vfHkO;fDr dks uSfrd ewY;ksa esa ck¡/kus
ds fy, dkuwu cukus dh lksp jgh gS rFkk bl dkuwu dks vfHkO;fDr dh Lora=rk
dk fojks/kh dgdj [kkfjt ugha fd;k tk ldrk D;ksafd vfHkO;fDr dh Lora=rk
rHkh rd nh tk ldrh gS tc rd fd uSfrd ekin.Mksa esa jgs rFkk ns’k ds fgr
esa dk;Z djsA
Xykscykbts’ku ds bl nkSju esa yksdra= dks ekuo thou rFkk mlds
fodkl ds fy, l’kDr vkStkj ekuk tkrk gSA blds lkFk leLr txr esa
ftEesnkjh] ikjnf’kZrk rFkk tckonsgh dks c<+kok fn;k tk jgk gS rc ehfM;k ij
Hkh vko’;d ikcafn;k¡ yxkuk ns’k rFkk lekftd ln~Hkko ds fy, vko’;d gSA
Hkkjr esa O;oLFkkfidk] dk;Zikfydk o U;k;ikfydk dks ^lwpuk ds vf/kdkj* ds
rgr tckonsgh rFkk ikjn’khZ cuk;k tk jgk gS rks yksdra= ds pkSFks LraHk dks Hkh
blls vNwrk ugha j[kk tk ldrkA ehfM;k ds laca/k esa dqN funsZ’kksa dh ppkZ
djuk vko’;d gS tSls lEikndksa vkSj i=dkjksa dh HksnHkko jfgr lkekftd
vfHkO;fDr dks cy nsuk pkfg, rkfd O;fDrxr vkdka{kkvksa dks lkEiznkf;d fgalk
rFkk laosnu’khy eqÌksa dks iz’kklfud rFkk lkekftd fgrksa dks /;ku esa j[kdj gh
izsf"kr djsaA fgald [kcjksa ;k ?kVukvksa dks ckj&ckj ^czsfdax U;wt* esa ugha fn[kkuk
pkfg, rFkk lEiznk; ;k /keZ ds vk/kkj ij ?kVukvksa dks yksxksa ls ugha tksM+uk
pkfg,A
orZeku esa lcls ekSfyd iz’u gS fd ehfM;k dks fdlh laosnu’khy eqÌs ij
nks /keksZa rFkk lEiznk; ds yksxksa ds e/; lkeatL; rFkk gy [kkstus ds fy,
lkSgknZiw.kZ ifjppkZ dks n’kZdksa rd igq¡pkuk pkfg, rkfd vke turk esa ln~Hkko
rFkk muds dqafBr fopkjksa dks ldkjkRed lkSgknZ esa rCnyh fd;k tk ldsA dqN
fnuksa igys n’kes’oj ?kkV ij cEc feyus dh ?kVuk] Msful dkVwZu fookn rFkk
mM+hlk esa ekvksokfn;ksa }kjk Lokeh ljLorh dh gR;k ehfM;k }kjk ldkjkREkd

:Ik esa fn[kkbZ xbZA ftlls lekt esa vkilh rkyesy rFkk lkSgknZ dk okrkoj.k
cukA laosnu’khy ekeyksa esa /kkfeZd izeq[kksa o fo}kuksa ds e/; LoLFk okrkoj.k esa
ifjppkZ djk;h tk, o mldk fp=.k o izlkj.k fd;k tk,A Hkkjr dh lkekftd
laLd`fr rFkk ^vusdrk esa ,drk* tSls ,sfrgkfld izlaxksa dk izlkj.k o fp=.k
fd;k tk,A iz’kklu ds lg;ksx ls 'kkafr dh iquZogkyh ds iz;kl fd, tk,] rFkk
ehfM;k dks bl fLFkfr esa dkQh lksp fopkj dj ?kVuk ds izlkj.k ls iM+us okys
izHkko dh leh{kk djds gh mls izlkfjr djuk pkfg,A
Hkkjr ljdkj }kjk îzlkj.k fcy* ykxw djus ds iz;kl fd, tk jgs gSa] bl
iz;kl esa Hkkjr ds lHkh ukxfjdksa] jktuSfrd nyksa vkSj Lo;a ehfM;k laLFkkuksa dks
ljdkj dk lg;ksx djuk pkfg,A ehfM;k laLFkkuksa dks viuh vksj ls Hkh dqN
^dksM vkWQ dUMDV* cukuk pkfg, o muds ifjikyu dks dM+kbZ ls lqfuf’pr
djuk pkfg,A orZeku fo’o esa fizaV rFkk bySDVªksfud ehfM;k ds fcuk thou dh
ifjdYiuk gh ugha dh tk ldrh D;ksafd ehfM;k yksdra= dk etcwr vkSj
l’kDr igyw cudj mHkj jgk gSA ,sls esa ehfM;k dk Hkh nkf;Ro gS fd og
okWpMkWx o ^fOg’ky Cyksvj* dh viuh Hkwfedk dks bZekunkjh ls fuHkk,A ehfM;k
dks orZeku fLFkfr esa miHkksDrkoknh ykHkdkjh fgrksa ls ckgj fudydj
O;kolkf;drk o uSfrdrk ds e/; mfpr o vfuok;Z larqyu LFkkfir djuk gksxkA
ehfM;k us lnk gh lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko LFkkfir djus esa udkjkREkd Hkwfedk
fuHkkbZ gS] ;g dguk ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk ds lkFk vU;k; gh gksxk D;ksafd dbZ
ekSdksa ij ehfM;k us viuh Hkwfedk cM+h bZekunkjh rFkk lkekftd lkSgknZ cukus ds
fy, Hkh fuHkkbZ gSA bu ldkjkREkd mnkgj.kksa dk bZekunkjh ls vuqlj.k fd;k
tkuk pkfg,A tc ehfM;k vius dÙkZO;ksa dk lgh vuqikyu 'kq: dj nsxk rks u
dsoy lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko oju~ lekos’kh fodkl] vkfn {ks=ksa esa xfr vk,xh vkSj
yksdrkaf=d ewY;ksa dks c<+kok feysxkA Hkkjr dh lefUor rFkk xaxk&tequh

laLd`fr us gh Hkkjr dks fodkl ds iFk ij rFkk yksdra= dks etcwr cuk;k gS tks
fd v’kksd vkSj lezkV vdcj ds }kjk fd, x, ln~Hkko vkSj dY;k.kdkjh dk;ksZa
dk urhtk gSA tc orZeku fo’o esa vkradokn ,d efg"kklqjh eq[k ds leku
Toyar leL;k cuk gqvk gS rc Hkkjr dh lefUor laLd`fr tSls fopkjksa dks gh
ehfM;k }kjk c<+kok fn;k tkuk pkfg,A rkfd ;g lans’k QSys fd tSls Hkkjr esa
fofHkUu Hkk"kk;h] tkfr /keZ ds yksx lkSgknZiw.kZ okrkoj.k esa jg ldrs gSa rks
vkradoknh xfrfof/k;k¡ vo’; gh detksj gksaxhA Hkkjr viuh ,sfrgkfld i`"BHkwfe
esa ^’kkafr rFkk HkkbZpkjs* ds fy, ^fo’oxq:* dh Hkwfedk fuHkkrk vk jgk gS] bl
Hkwfedk dks cuk, j[kus o blds {ks= esa xfr’khyrk ykus ds fy, vko’;d gS fd
ehfM;k lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko dks c<+kok nsus esa vius nkf;Ro dk fu"BkiwoZd ikyu
djsA orZeku Xykscykbts’ku ds nkSj esa oSf’od eap ls usr`Ro djus ds fy,
vko’;d gS fd ehfM;k }kjk lkEiznkf;d ln~Hkko dks cuk, j[kus rFkk mls cy
iznku djs ds fy, n`<+ fu’p;h gksuk iM+sxk rkfd Hkfo"; esa ^xks/kjk* rFkk ckcjh
efLtn fo/oa’k tSlh ?kVukvksa dh iqujko`fÙk u gksA ehfM;k }kjk gh og fLFkfr
izkIr dh tk ldrh gS ftldk o.kZu t;’kadj izlkn us vius egkdkO;
^dkek;uh* esa lejlrk dh fLFkfr ds :Ik esa fd;k gS tks fuEu iafDr;ksa esa
lkekftd ln~Hkko rFkk lejlrk dks m)fjr djrh gaS&
ßvkSjksa dks g¡lrs ns[kks euq] galks vkSj lq[k ikvksA
vius lq[k dks foLr`r dj yks] lcdks lq[kh cukvksAß

bUlku dh vkSykn gS] bUlku cusxk
fxfjoj n;ky flag
rw u fgUnw cusxk]
u eqlyeku cusxkA
bUlku dh vkSykn gS]
bUlku cusxkAA
;g fQYe dk ,d xkuk gS] tks gekjh lH;rk] lelkef;d laLd`fr]
leHkko dh Hkkouk rFkk bUlkfu;r ¼ekuork½ dks lcls cM+k /keZ ekurk gSA rHkh
rks bl xkus esa ,d firk vius NksVs ls cPps dks tks laLdkj nssus dh ckr djrk
gS] og fdlh /keZ ls izsfjr ugha gS] mlesa dVqrk ugha gS] fo"k ugha gS cfYd
mnkjrk] loZ/keZ leHkko rFkk lHkh /keksZa ls c<+dj ekuork dh f’k{kk nsus dh ckr
dgh x;h gSA
izfl) ehfM;k vkykspd tkWu Vwys us dgk Fkk] ßge D;k Fks] D;k gSa rFkk
Hkfo"; esa D;k gksaxs] bldh Hkwfedk ds fu/kkZj.k esa ehfM;k ,d egRoiw.kZ drkZ dh
rjg dk;Z djsxkA vkt uo fo’o vkradokn rFkk ijLij oSeuL; dh Hkkouk ls
tw> jgk gS rks ge lHkh ehfM;kdfeZ;ksa rFkk ehfM;k izca/kdksa dk ;g nkf;Ro cu
tkrk gS fd ge vkus okyh ih<+h dks ;g fn[kk,a] tks ekuo dks ekuo ls] ekuork
dks ekuork ls rFkk f’k{kk dks uSfrd f’k{kk ¼Moral Education½ ls tksM+rk gksAß
ehfM;k dks yksdra= ds pkSFks LrEHk ds :Ik esa ekU;rk nh x;h gSA ;g
loZfofnr gS fd ,d lQy yksdra= ds fy, ;g vfr vko’;d gS fd lekt esa
ijLij izse gks] yksd&uhfr;ksa] ijEijkvksa dk ijLij vknj fd;k tk,] lHkh tkfr
rFkk /keZ ds yksxksa rFkk muds ijLij fo’okl dks lEeku nsrs gq, loZdY;k.k dh
Hkkouk dks tkx`r fd;k tk,A ;g dk;Z gekjh ehfM;k ds ,d izeq[k nkf;Roksa esa
ls ,d gSA blus tgk¡ ,d vksj ,sls dk;ZØe fn, gSa ftuls lHkh /keksZa dh
fo’ks"krkvksa] mudh mUur’khy laLd`fr] vkpkj] fopkj rFkk ,dhdj.k dh Hkkouk

dk izpkj&izlkj gksrk gS ogha nwljh vksj mlus ,sls Hkh dk;ZØe fn, gSa tks
:f<+;ksa rFkk cqjkb;ksa ds fo:) vke Hkkouk fodflr djrs gSaA yksxksa dks muds
fo:) tkx:d djrs gSa rFkk blds f[kykQ yM+us dks izksRlkfgr djrs gSaA
lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ dks c<+kus esa ;fn ge ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk dk fofHkUu
dkyksa ds vk/kkj ij fo’ys"k.k djsa rks ge ;g ik,axs fd dsoy orZeku esa gh ugha
cfYd izkphu dky ls gh fizaV ehfM;k us lkekftd leHkko] jk"Vªh; ,drk rFkk
uotkxj.k esa fo’ks"k Hkwfedk dk fuokZg fd;k gSA blus lnSo ekuo] ekuork rFkk
ns’k izse dks /keZ rFkk tkfr ls Åij j[kk gS] rFkk ßtuuh&tUeHkwfe’p LoxkZnfi
xjh;flAAß vFkkZr~ ßek¡ o ekr`Hkwfe LoxZ ls Hkh c<+dj gSAß dh Hkkouk dks gh
izpkfjr rFkk izlkfjr fd;k gSA
izkphu dky esa laxBu NksVk gksrk Fkk] izk;% jktk ;k eqf[k;k ,d xk¡o dk
gksrk Fkk] tks ckn esa ,d gh dchys dk gksus yxkA pw¡fd os lHkh jDr&laca/kh gksrs
Fks rFkk os ijLij vkpkj&fopkj] jhfr&fjokt rFkk /kkfeZd fo’okl esa lekaxh gksrs
Fks] vr% buesa la?k"kZ ¼vkil esa½ ugha FksA ysfdu /khjs&/khjs tc laxBu dk vkdkj
cM+k gksus yxk rFkk fofHkUu fo’oklksa dks ekuus okys yksx ,d gh jk"Vª&jkT; esa
'kkfey gksus yxs rks muesa opZLo ds fy, la?k"kZ c<+k D;ksafd izR;sd leqnk; viuh
ijEijkvksa dks nwljs ij Fkksiuk pkgrk FkkA blls muesa vkil esa la?k"kZ mRiUu
gksus yxk rFkk 'kfDr’kkyh dh fot; gksrh FkhA og viuh ijEijkvksa dks gkjs gq,
yksxksa ij Fkksius yxsA blesa ,dhdj.k dk vHkko Fkk] blh fy, ;g LFkk;h ugha
gksrk Fkk] rFkk nwljk i{k lnSo blesa yxk jgrk Fkk fd dSls og viuh 'kfDr dks
c<+k,] rFkk fQj ls viuh [kksbZ gqbZ ijEijk rFkk jhfr&fjoktksa dk ikyu djuk
izkjEHk dj nsA ;g vjktdrk rFkk ccZjrk dk ;qx FkkA fdlh Hkh izdkj ds fizaV
vFkok bysDVªkWfud ehfM;k dk vHkko FkkA

ysfdu e/;dky esa fLFkfr;k¡ cnyus yxhaA fczVsu esa vkS|ksfxd ØkfUr gqbZ
rFkk e’khuksa rFkk Nkis[kkus dk fodkl gqvkA fizaV ehfM;k lkeus vk;k rFkk
oSf’od lwpuk dk LFkkuhdj.k dqN gnrd gksuk laHko gks ldkA :lks] vjLrw]
feYVu rFkk gkCl ds fopkjksa ls lkjk tx ykHkkfUor gqvkA ekuo vf/kdkjks] ekuo
ds lEekuuh; thou rFkk izR;sd /keZ dks ekuus] mldk izpkj&izlkj djus rFkk
mldk lEeku djus dh Hkkouk tkx`r gqbZA ekuokf/kdkjksa dk mn; gqvk rFkk
/kkfeZd izo`fÙk;k¡ tks ekuo ds fodkl rFkk mlds Qyus Qwyus esa ck/kd Fkha]
lkfgR;ksa ds izlkj ds dkj.k de gqbZA
Hkkjr esa Hkh fczfV’k jkT; dh LFkkiuk ds lkFk vkS|ksfxd ØkfUr rFkk izsl
ds fodkl dk pj.k izkjaHk gqvkA bl izsl ds ek/;e ls uotkxj.k ls ;qDr
lkfgR; iwjs fo’o esa QSykA u;s&u;s v[kckjksa dk izdk’ku izkjaHk gqvkA fgUnh Hkk"kk
tks fd ml le; Hkh iwjs ns’k ds lokZf/kd Hkkx ij cksyh tkrh Fkh] ds lanHkZ esa
Hkh igyk lekpkj i= ^mr.M ekrZ.M* izdkf’kr gqvkA bl lekpkj i= dh lcls
cM+h fo’ks"krk ;g Fkh fd bldk lEikndh; tgk¡ ,d vksj jk"Vª&Hkkouk ls
vksr&izksr Fkk] ogha nwljh vksj blus lkEiznkf;drk] /kkfeZd fo}s"k ,oa ,slh
ijEijkvksa] jhfr;ksa dk fojks/k fd;k tks /kkfeZd fo}s"k dks QSykrh Fkh] rFkk uokpkj]
oSKkfud f’k{kk] ekuorkokn vkSj rdZokn ij fo’ks"k cy fn;k] ftlus ;g crk;k
fd lcls cM+k /keZ ekuork dk gS rFkk ekuo thou dk mÌs’; ßijLij
lgvfLrRoß gSA lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ dks Hkkjr esa c<+kus dk ehfM;k ds :Ik esa bl
vjo+ckj dh Hkwfedk fo’ks"k :Ik ls mYys[kuh; blfy, Hkh gS D;ksafd blesa fofHkUu
/keksZa rFkk lEiznk;ksa ds erkoyfEc;ksa ds fopkjkas dks 'kkfey fd;k x;k FkkA vaxzstksa
dks ,slk yxk fd ;g lekpkj i= tuekul esa lkekftd lejlrk dh Hkkouk
dks ,d vksj tkx`r dj jgk gS ogha nwljh vksj vaxzstksa ds fo:) Hkh Hkkouk dk

lapkj dj jgk gSA vr% o"kZ 1912 esa dqN le; ds fy, bl ij izfrca/k yxk
fn;k x;kA
20oha 'krkCnh ds mÙkjk)Z esa dqN ,slh fLFkfr;k¡ mHkjus yxha fd yksxksa ds
fopkjksa esa vius /keZ rFkk lEiznk; ds fy, fo’ks"k :Ik ls Hkkouk tkx`r gksus yxh]
rFkk mudk ekuuk Fkk fd ,d /keZ@lEiznk; ds fgrksa dh ckrsa] ;kstuk,a rFkk
ljdkj dk >qdko] muds er@/keZ ds fodkl esa ck/kd gksus yxs gaS] vFkkZr~ muds
fo:) dk;Z djds gh nwljs lEiznk; dk fgr lqfuf’pr fd;k tk ldrk gSA
,slh n’kk esa yksxksa ds eu esa ,d izdkj dh fo"kkDr Hkkouk us tUe fy;kA
;g Hkkouk ,d vksj rks yksxksa dks vktknh izkIr djus ds egÙkj mÌs’; ls nwj rks
dj gh jgh Fkh] ogha nwljh vksj oSeuL; us vaxzsth jkT; dh tM+s vkSj xgjh dj
nh FkhaA ,slh fLFkfr esa ehfM;k gh rks Fkk] ftlus bl oSeuL; dks de fd;kA
lkekftd&/kkfeZd vkUnksyuksa esa lq/kkj dh Hkkouk dks c<+kus esa fo’ks"k :Ik ls
lekpkj i=ksa dh fo’ks"k Hkwfedk jgh gSA mnkgj.k ds fy, Jh jktk jke eksgu jk;
}kjk lEikfnr v[kckj ^fejkrqy v[kckj* rFkk cky xaxk/kj fryd }kjk fudkyk
tkus okyk ^dsljh* vkSj êjkBk* us yksxksa dks tkfrxr rFkk /kkfeZd ladh.kZ Hkkouk
ls fudkydj] jk"Vª dh eq[; /kkjk esa lfEefyr gksus dk lq>ko fn;kA mUgksaus
vius v[kckj ds ek/;e ls ;g crk;k fd lHkh /keksZa dk vk/kkj ekuork gS] gesa
/kkfeZd rFkk tkfrxr vk/kkj ij foyfxr ugha gksuk pkfg, ,oa iz;kl djuk
pkfg, fd ijLij ,d gksdj vius&vki dks laxfBr djsa rFkk xqykeh dh tathjksa
dks rksM+saA ysfdu ;g dk;Z rHkh laHko gS tc ge ,d gksaxs vkSj vkilh fo}s"k dks
rFkk /keZ ds vk/kkj ij vyx ns’k cukuk vFkok dqN /keZ ds erkoyafc;ksa }kjk ;g
ekuuk fd vaxzsth jkT; esa gh mudh mUufr gks ldrh gS] ;g xyr gSA

egkRek xk¡/kh }kjk fudkys x;s lekpkj i= ^fgUn Lojkt* rFkk ^gfjtu* esa
Hkh lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ dh ckr dh x;h gSA tgk¡ ,d vksj /keZ ls vyx jgdj
^loksZn;* rFkk ^vUR;ksn;* dh Hkkouk dks Li"V fd;k x;k gS ogha Nqvk&Nwr rFkk
nfyr m)kj ij Hkh cy fn;k x;k gSA ;g ekuk x;k gS fd lkEiznkf;drk ek=
/keZ ds vk/kkj ij gh ugha gksrh gS cfYd ;g var% /kkfeZd vFkkZr~ mPp rFkk
fuEu&oxZ] lo.kZ ,oa gfjtu ds chp Hkh gks ldrh gSA vr% vko’;drk bl ckr
dh gS fd ijLij leHkko o ,dhdj.k dh Hkkouk o ekU;rk dks viuk;k tk,A
^gfjtu* ds 12 vDVwcj 1930 ds vad esa egkRek xk¡/kh us fy[kk Fkk& ßge
lc ,d gSaAß vkSj fdlh dks Hkh] pkgs og ekuo gks vFkok ekuosÙkj] gesa fdlh Hkh
vk/kkj ij vyx djus dk vf/kdkj ugha gSA lcls cM+k /keZ ekuork gS] rFkk og
/keZ bldk vxj fojks/k djrk gS] vFkok blds fo:) fo}s"k dh Hkkouk iSnk djrk
gS rks gesa mldk ck;dkV djuk pkfg,] pkgs og Hkys gh gekjk viuk /keZ gksAß
ge ns[krs gSa fd chloha 'krkCnh ds iwokZ) esa vktknh dks izkIr djus ds fy,
ftrus Hkh vkUnksyu gq, os vR;ar laxfBr] ns’k&izse dh Hkkouk ls vksr&izksr rFkk
Lo dh Hkkouk ls ijs cM+s mÌs’; dks izkIr djus ds fy, FksA ;g rHkh laHko gks
ik;k tc yksx lkEiznkf;drk dh Hkkouk ds fo:) [kM+s gq,A ;g dk;Z ehfM;k ds
fcuk laHko ugha FkkA
vktknh ds ckn fodkl rFkk ^dY;k.kdkjh jkT;* dh LFkkiuk dk pj.k
izkjEHk gqvkA fodkl dks lHkh rd igq¡pkuk Fkk] rFkk ;g ns[kk tk jgk Fkk fd
fczfV’k ljdkj us tks dVqrk ds cht ns’k esa cks, Fks] mlds dkj.k dbZ
/kekZoyafc;ksa ds fo’okl dks thrus esa leL;k Fkh] rFkk mudks ;g fo’okl fnykuk
fd ns’k muds fy, gS rFkk fodkl rFkk dY;k.k dh ;kstuk,a mudks Hkh
ykHkkfUor djus ds fy, gSa] nq’dj dk;Z FkkA ysfdu ljdkj us mudks ;g
fo’okl fnykus ds fy, n`’;] JO; ek/;e rFkk fizaV ehfM;k dk lgkjk fy;kA

fofHkUu foKkiuksa ds ek/;e ls mudks fodkl dh eq[;/kkjk esa 'kkfey fd;k x;k
rFkk bl dk;Z dks fofHkUu lekpkj i=ksa] tks fd izk;% lHkh egRoiw.kZ Hkk"kkvksa esa
Fks] esa izdkf’kr djok;k x;kA jsfM;ks ij /kkfeZd dqjhfr;ksa ds fo:) /keZ xq:vksa
ds Hkk"k.k vk;ksftr rFkk izlkfjr djok, x;sA bruk gh ugha ljdkj us o"kZ 1972
esa] tc ikfdLrku rFkk phu ls ;q) ds ckn ;g vko’;d gks x;k Fkk fd yksx
,drk esa jgsa vkSj muesa ijLij leHkko rFkk vknj dh Hkkouk gks] rks bl dk;Z esa
JO; ehfM;k ¼jsfM;ks½ dh Hkwfedk dks vkSj izHkko’kkyh rFkk l’kDr cukus ds fy,
ßjk"Vªh;rk ,drk iqjLdkjksaß dh ?kks"k.kk dh] tks vkt Hkh mu vkdk’kok.kh dsUnzksa
dks fn, tkrs gSa] ftudh jk"Vªh; ,drk esa fo’ks"k Hkwfedk jgh gSA
o"kZ 2007 dk ßjk"Vªh; ,drk dks c<+kus ds fy, loZJs"B dk;ZØeß dk
iqjLdkj vkdk’kok.kh fr:fpukiYyh dks dk;ZØe ^vxkFksekph* tks fd jk"Vªh;
,drk dh o`f) djus okyk ,d ukVd Fkk] dks fn;k x;kA ßvxkFksekphß ,d ,slk
ukVd gS] ftleas usrk ds vkg~oku ij] tc ns’k ij ladV vkrk gS rks yksx
ijLij tkfrxr fo}s"k dks Hkqykdj] ns’k ds fy, viuh tku nsus ls Hkh ugha
fgpdrsA
vLlh ds n’kd esa tc Vsyhfotu dh 'kq:vkr O;kid iSekus ij gqbZ rFkk
Vh0oh0 dh igq¡p nwj&nwj ds xk¡oksa rd gqbZ rks] ns’k&izse rFkk loZ/keZ leHkko ds
dk;ZØeksa ls xzkeh.k Hkkjr esa Hkh /kkfeZd dqjhfr;ksa] /keZ fo}s"k ds izfr va/kkuqdj.k
rFkk fofHkUu izdkj ds ,sls jhfr&fjoktksa dks ekuus esa] ftlls nwljs lEiznk; dh
Hkkouk,a vkgr gksrh gksa] esa deh vk;h gSA yksxksa dk yksxksa esa fo’okl c<+k gSA
pkgs fgUnw gksa] flD[k] eqlyeku vFkok bZlkbZ lHkh bZn dh lsobZ;k¡ [kkrs gSa]
ijLij xys feyrs gSa rFkk ,d nwljs dks 'kqHkdkeuk,a nsrs gSa] ,sls gh gksyh rFkk
nhikoyh jk"Vªh; R;kSgkj cu x;s gSa tks /keZ ls ijs gks x;s gSaA ;g ehfM;k dk gh
;ksxnku gSA

90 ds n’kd esa oS’ohdj.k] mnkjhdj.k rFkk futhdj.k ls vkfFkZd Hkksxokn
rFkk HkkSfrdokn c<+us yxk yksxksa esa fQj ls ladh.kZrk,a tUe ysus yxhaA vesfjdk
}kjk bjkd ij rFkk ckn esa vQxkfuLrku ij geys ds ckn iwjs fo’o esa /kkfeZd
fo}s"k QSyus yxk rFkk Hkkjr Hkh blds izHkko ls vNwrk ugha jgkA gky ds o"kksZa esa
Hkkjr o"kZ ds yxHkx izR;sd {ks= ¼izns’k½ esa lkEiznkf;d naxs gq,A vkradokn rFkk
ce&foLQksV }kjk funksZ"kksa dks dkydofyr djkus ds cgqr ls lQy rFkk vlQy
iz;kl gq,A us’kuy Økbe fjdkMZ C;wjks dh fjiksVZ ds vuqlkj o"kZ 2006 esa dqy
26 LFkkuksa ij lkEiznkf;d la?k"kZ dh cM+h vFkok NksVh ?kVuk,a gqbZ rFkk bu
?kVukvksa esa 172 ls vf/kd funksZ"k yksxksa dh tku xbZ rFkk yxHkx 270 djksM+ #0
dh lEifÙk dk uk’k gqvkA blh izdkj o"kZ 2006 esa ce foLQksV dh ?kVukvksa esa
200 ls vf/kd yksxksa dh tkusa x;hA vr% orZeku le; esa ehfM;k dh Hkwfedk bu
vokaNuh; ?kVukvksa dks jksdus esa vkSj Hkh c<+ tkrh gSA 90 ds n’kd esa fofHkUu
izdkj ds /kkfeZd lhfj;yksa tSls& jkek;.k] egkHkkjr] bZlwelhg dh dgkfu;ksa rFkk
dqjku dh vk;rksa ij vk/kkfjr /kkjkokfgdksa dk izlkj.k dj tgk¡ ,d vksj
dqjhfr;ksa dks nwj djus dk iz;kl fd;k x;k ogha nwljh vksj ^n lksMZ vkWQ Vhiw
lqYrku* rFkk êgkjk.kk izrki* tSls ns’kHkfDr ls iw.kZ /kkjkokfgdksa dk izlkj.k dj
lkEiznkf;d Hkkouk ls gVdj ns’kHkfDRk dk tTck iSnk fd;k x;kA
orZeku le; ^lwpuk izkS|ksfxdh* ¼vkbZ-lh-Vh-½ dk ;qx gSA bl lwpuk
izkS|ksfxdh us ^LFkkuh; lwpuk dk Hkwe.Myhdj.k* (Globalization of Local
Information) fd;k gSA vr% ^csLV izSfDVl* dk fodkl gqvkA vFkkZr~ ,slh
lwpukvksa dks mnkgj.k ds :Ik esa izLrqr fd;k x;k tks ^lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ* dks
c<+kus okyh gksa rFkk os izR;sd lekt esa ykxw gksrh gksaA mnkgj.k ds fy,& dsjy
ds mMqih ftys esa ,d xk¡o esa gq, vUr/kkZfeZd fookg dks u dsoy izns’k ds Lrj
ij cfYd iwjs ns’k o fo’o ds Lrj ij izpkfjr o izlkfjr fd;k x;kA

dbZ pSuyksa esa vUr/kkZfeZd fookgksa rFkk ijLij esyfeyki dks izksRlkfgr
fd;k gSA dbZ /kkjkokfgdksa esa ijLij fgUnw&eqfLye] fgUnw&flD[k vFkok fofHkUu
lkEiznkf;d erkoyafc;ksa ds ijLij oSokfgd lEcU/kksa dks fn[kk;k tkrk gS rFkk
;g Hkh crk;k tkrk gS fd fdl izdkj rdksZa ds vk/kkj ij ekrk&firk rFkk vU;
lekt ds lacaf/k;ksa dks bl ckr ds fy, euk;k tkrk gSA orZeku esa LVkj Iyl
ij izk;ksftr /kkjkokfgd ^vkuk ekgh js* dqN blh izdkj dk mnkgj.k izLrqr
djrk gSA
blh izdkj gekjk fizaV ehfM;k ¼lekpkj i=½ Hkh ihNs ugha jgk gSA fofHkUu
izdkj ds mPp xq.koÙkk okys lekpkj i= bl ckr dks ges’kk /;ku esa j[krs gSa fd
muds lekpkj&i= esa dksbZ Hkh ,slh ckr u Nkih tk, tks fdlh /keZ fo’ks"k dh
Hkkoukvksa dks vkgr djrh gksA muds lEikndh; lnSo /kkfeZd ladh.kZrkvksa rFkk
dqjhfr;ksa dk fojks/k djrs gSa pkgs og cky&fookg gks vFkok efgykvksa dh
ijEijkxr rFkk n`<+rk ls ikyu gksus okyh izFkk& inkZ izFkkA
bruk gh ugha] fofHkUu lekpkj&i= vius oSokfgd foKkiuksa esa ,sls
foKkiuksa ij fo’ks"k :Ik ls NwV nsrs gSa ftuesa vUrtkZrh; rFkk vUr/kkZfeZd fookgksa
dks izkFkfedrk nh tkrh gSA
vHkh gky esa gh fofHkUu LFkkuksa ij gq, ce&foLQksVksa ds ckn lkEiznkf;d
ruko QSykus dh vk’kadk eglwl dh tk jgh Fkh] ,slh n’kk esa gekjs JO; rFkk
n`’; ehfM;k (Auto-vedio rFkk Print Media) us ljkguh; dk;Z fd;k rFkk
lkEiznkf;d lkSgknZ dks cuk, j[kus esa fo’ks"k Hkwfedk vnk dhA
mijksDr ifjfLFkfr;ksa ds gksrs gq, Hkh ;g nq[k dk fo"k; gS fd dHkh&dHkh
,slh ifjLFkfr;k¡ mRiUu gks tkrh gSa tgk¡ ehfM;k viuh Hkwfedk dks izHkko’kkyh
rjhds ls ugha fuHkk ikrk gSA dnkfpr bldk dkj.k miHkksDrkokn] Hkwe.Myhdj.k
rFkk lLrh yksdfiz;rk dh izkfIr gSA fQj Hkh ,slh laLFkkvksa rFkk O;fDr;ksa dh

deh ugha gS tks bl ikou dk;Z dks dj jgs gSaA vkt Hkh ekuork thfor gSA
jktuhfr dk nwf"kr gksuk rFkk /ku&cy Hkh bl 'kfDr dks ijkftr ugha dj ik;k
gSA ljdkj us dbZ ,sls izko/kku fd, gSa ftlls ehfM;k dh 'kqfprk cuh jgsA
mnkgj.k ds :Ik esa izsl VªLV vkWQ bafM;k rFkk izsl dkmfUly vkWQ bafM;k esa
lnL;ksa dh fu;qfDr ds lanHkZ esa ;g izko/kku fd;k gS fd lekt ds lHkh oxksZa dk
mfpr izfrfuf/kRo cuk jgs rFkk bldh ifo=rk esa dksbZ vk?kkr u igq¡psA
leL;k,a rks vkrh gS] ysfdu ßekuo dh bPNk&’kfDr ls c<+dj dqN ugha
gSAß vko’;drk gS& lHkh dks tksM+us dh] mudks fo’okl fnykus dh] fd ge lHkh
,d gSa rFkk lnSo ,d jgsaxsA tEew d’ehj ls dU;kdqekjh rd] flYpj ls
iksjcanj rd lHkh ,d gh lw= esa fijks, gSa] ge dHkh vyx ugha gksaxs& ,slh
Hkkouk ehfM;k }kjk yksxksa ds eu esa txkus rFkk bldks l’kDr djus dh
vko’;drk gSA
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djuk gksxk tks /kkfeZd lejlrk dks c<+krs gSaA fodkl ds dk;ZØeksa rFkk yksxksa ds
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igq¡puk Hkh ehfM;k dh ,d egRoiw.kZ ftEesnkjh gS D;ksafd ;g ekuk tkrk gS fd
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ds ckjs esa f’k{kk igq¡pk;h tk,xh] ;kstukvksa dk vf/kdre ykHk ysus dh izo`fÙk ds

ckjs esa tkx:drk iSnk dh tk,xh] rHkh /kkfeZd lejlrk c<+sxhA fuf’pr :i ls
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About the contributors
Sl. Name Service Address
No.
1. Radhakrishnan B. IAS No.2, Bose Nagar
6th Street
Pudukkottai-622 001
Tamil Nadu
2. Aishvarya Singh IAS C/o Dr. A.K. Singh

510/220-b
Baijnath Road
Lucknow-226 007
Uttar Pradesh
3. Rajan Vishal IAS 27-Shiv Nagar

Post Office Jawala Flour
Mills
Amritsar-143 003
Punjab
4. Ashwini Sattaru IFS 8-2-684-J-8-A, RD NUM:

12, Bhavani Nagar,
Banjara Hills-34,
Hyderabad-500 034
Andhra Pradesh
5. Harsh Mangla IAS Gopi Nath Mandir Wali

Gali
Hasanpur-121 107
Haryana
6. Mariam Farzhana Sadhiq IAS Old No.16, New No.31,

Taylor’s Estate, 2nd Street
Kodambakkam
Chennai-600 024
Tamil Nadu
7. Lalithalakshmi IAS C/o K. Venkataramani

Venkataramani B 704, Gopalan Jewels
Kanakapura Main Road
Bangalore
Karnataka

8. Karma Dorji RBCS Vill Kethokha, Block-
Bongo
Dist. Chhukha
Thimphy
Royal Bhutan
9. Rahul Jain IPS C/o Ashok Jain

125, Maharani Jhansi
Marg
Ambala Cantt-133 001
Haryana
10. Dhavalkumar Kiritkumar IAS A/8, Gokul Flats

Patel Opp. Shivam Flats
Nava Vadaj
Ahmedabad-380 013
Gujarat
11. Adesh Anand Titarmare IAS Plot No.44, Opp. To Plot

800, Kirti Nagar, Near
Water Tank, New
Nandanwan Layout,
Nagpur-440 009
Maharashtra
12 Shemushi Bajpai IPS C/o Dr. Adya

104, Gautam Buddha
Niwas
Banasthali Vidyapith
Tonk-304 022 Rajasthan
13. Bharat Yadav IAS Village and Post

Udgawan, Distt. Datia-475
661
Madhya Pradesh
14. Lalit Shakyawar IPS C/o Mansharam

Shakyawar
34, Nehru Colony, RK Puri
Thatipur, Gwalior-474 011
Madhya Pradesh

15. Giriwar Dayal Singh IAS C/o Ishwar PraSAD Singh
Village – Bichchhi
PO – Bichchhi
Tehsil – Robertsganj
Sonebhadra, Uttar
Pradesh

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Role of Media in Promoting

National Foundation for Communal Harmony

National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH)

© 2012, National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH)

‘Any part of this publication

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 2

3. Rajan Vishal Media has a responsible role in 18-24

4. Ashwini Sattaru Security of all is in a free press 25-34

5. Harsh Mangla Media has to be sensitive for harmony 35-42

8. Karma Dorji Media must help society to define and 55-59

9. Rahul Jain Media can steer the country in a direction 60-65

10. Dhavalkumar Content of the Media should be 66-72

13. Hkjr ;kno ehfM;k& yksdra= dk izgjh 87-92

14. yfyr 'kkD;koj ehfM;k dks O;kolkf;drk o uSfrdrk ds 93-99

About the contributors 110-111

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 3

I am pleased to present this collection of essays on ‘Role of Media in Promoting

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 1

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 2

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 3

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 4

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 5

2. News, views or comments relating to communal or religious disputes/clashes

3. The media, as a chronicle of tomorrow’s history, owes an undeniable duty to

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 6

Recently, some of the TV channels have shown the coexistence of Hindus

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 7

India is a country characterized by a diverse population comprising people

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 8

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 9

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 10

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 11

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 12

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 13

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 14

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 15

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 16

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 17

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 18

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 19

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 20

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 21

What media should do

The regional media (regional news channels, newspapers and

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 22

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 23

Lets weave a world

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 24

Definition and importance of harmony

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 25

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 26

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 27

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 28

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 29

Communal harmony issues-history and psychology

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 30

What has retained communal harmony?

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 31

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 32

Guidelines for handling communal riots by media in India

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 33

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 34

Role of Media in Promoting Communal Harmony 35